Dancing With What Feels So Right
by Reigns'Sweetheart
Summary: Dean convinces Roman to finally have a guy's night out with him. They meet a woman who literally danced her way into Roman's mind and thoughts without a conversation, or even a name. When they meet two months later and remember where it is that they first met, will they allow anything to happen between them as sparks fly or will obstacles be too much for them to handle if they do?
1. Chapter 1

As Roman sat inside of an elusive club that very few knew about with his best friend, Dean, a group of young women came out in Indian inspired clothing and began to belly dance. As the music began to give off the feeling of lust, so did their movements. One woman in particular, went up to Roman when they all spread out. She had something covering her face from the nose down, so her eyes were all that he could see. But her eyes were everything that he needed to feel the connection and chemistry between the two.

Her eyes were so blue, that he got lost in them. Her eyebrows were perfectly arched and neat, and a birthmark in the middle of her forehead, helped give an exotic look to her. The people who danced here every weekend weren't allowed to take their clothes off, so stripping was NOT was this was and the guests were not allowed to inappropriately touch them, let alone touch them at all unless they were given permission by the dancers, to be touched. It was part of a contest that was held about every two weeks, and the first place winner recieved a cash prize.

The woman turned around and revealed a tattoo down her spine in what seemed like Japanese or Chinese lettering. Walking around Roman's chair to stand behind him, he and Dean looked at each other curiously but with a smile on their faces. Roman felt her breath near his ear as she began to speak.

"I hope you remember me after tonight." She whispered softly in his ear.

Roman looked up at her and into her eyes and felt the chemistry between the two just oozing out. She traced the tip of her finger against his lips before giving him one final look and turning around to walk away. The tall woman with curves and the tattoo down her back walked back up on stage and began to dance as if she's been dancing for years. One look at her and you would think that she was a professional dancer from how good she was and not once, did she miss a beat or mess up.

"Who is that?" Roman asked Dean as they continued to watch her. Her moves made you want more and kept you entertained. You couldn't get yourself to look away, no matter how much you had wanted to. "And what took you so long to get me to come here?"

Dean chuckled. "I didn't know this place existed until last week. I found out that this place has contests like this, so that's when I asked you if you wanted to come try this place out. I heard that the women were gorgeous and it is not disappointing me in the least tonight."

_**Two months later...**_

Roman walked into the school that he had been working at for the past few weeks. He had just recently been hired and was going to be the new coach for the college football team when the new season arrives. For now, he was a professor for English classes for the few college seniors that still needed English credits and during the summer semester, where wasn't much activity in the school from the majority of the student body that decided to take the summer off. As he went to where the students would be playing football and having their practices, he saw the men who stood in front of him, that he had gathered together for an announcement. Looking at his watch after a few minutes, he got the guys to settle down as he stood next to the assistant coach who began to introduce him.

"Good afternoon, everyone." Roman began. "I know everyone here is anxious to go spend their summer outside of school grounds, but I just wanted to make some announcements for the upcoming football season. For those who'll be returning for the new season, if there's anything that you need to improve on, please take time out this summer to work on it and take what you're already good at and try to improve to become better at it. The same goes to the new guys who will want to try out for the team. I want us to go all the way this coming season and I want all of us to be champions."

The guys began to clap and cheer as they heard the word champions and realized that he had the same goal as they did. Roman smiled and nodded as he looked out at the guys.

"Another thing, please take the time to schedule in a physical." Roman added. "I'm telling you this now, because when the new season starts to come around, you all know that a physical will be needed as well as some other documentations. This way, you're already prepared with what you need, instead of having to run around at the last minute to get it done. I've seen it happen time and again and I do not and will not, run after anybody to get them to have what they need. If there's anybody who's not here who will be a returning football player, or who wants to tryout for the team, please let them know these announcements. I will be expecting everybody to be ready when tryouts begin. As time goes on, we will be letting you know of any information that you will need to have. Have a good day everyone and thank you for coming."

The guys clapped and went about their day as they left the field. Roman made sure he got everything together after the assistant coach talked to him for a few minutes, before leaving because of a meeting.

"So you're the new coach." Said a female's voice, from the benches.

Roman looked up to see a woman who seemed to be on the tall side, walking towards him. Her hair was chestnut brown and she had strong blue eyes. Her lips were pink and a bit full and she had on a long summer dress with sandles. As she walked up to him, he recognized those blue eyes and the birthmark in the middle of her forehead.

"Yeah, I am. But I'm teaching English for now until the new season starts. Are you a student?" Roman replied.

She smiled. "I'm getting my PhD in Psychology. It's my second year, but I'm doing the four semester a year thing. It'll help me get done faster. I've been hearing about a new coach for the football team, but I wanted to see for myself who it was."

As the woman walked up to Roman a little more, she gasped softly and tried to hide it when she realized who it was. The same guy that she saw two months prior, where she was dancing that night. But Roman had already noticed and became aware that she had realized who he may be.

"You're the woman that I saw that night." Said Roman as he closed the gap and stood right in front of her. "I know for a fact, that it's you. I can't forget those eyes."

She looked up into his eyes and felt as if she was going into another world. "I didn't see you again after that night and so I thought I wouldn't see you again. I'm so sorry, I didn't know you were going to work here."

"You want to avoid me?" Asked Roman. He had to admit to himself that it kind of hurt his pride in a way, thinking that a beautiful woman like her may want to avoid him.

She shook her head. "No, it's not that. It's just that nobody knows that I go there except two of my friends who have kept quiet about it since I told them. I didn't think that anybody else from school would ever know."

Silence filled the air as the minutes passed by before they spoke again.

"My name is Roman." He said as he streched his hand out. "I'm the new football coach and English professor."

She took his hand and shook it as she smiled and relaxed a bit. "I'm Katrina. I'm a Psychology student. Don't worry, I'm twenty-two, so you don't have to worry about my age."

"You're twenty-two and already working on your Phd?" Asked Roman.

"I graduated high school at sixteen." Katrina replied. "Got my Bachelor's in Psychology at twenty, and on my way to a Phd. I'm very ambitious."

They pulled their hands away from each other and cleared their throats when they realized that they had not let go of each other's hand.

'I'm sure you have some things that you need to get to." Said Katrina as she fixed her bag. "I'll let you tend to them. But it was nice meeting you..._coach_."

Roman smiled when he saw the small one that was forming on her lips. "Nice meeting you too, Ms. Katrina."

Showing her dimples, she walked away and Roman couldn't help but watch as she left, until he couldn't see her anymore. The next thing he thought about was what Dean would think if he found out that the woman we saw is a student at the school. His mind was sure to be occupied tonight.


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you to justkimmy for reviewing :) **

It's been a week since Roman and Katrina have seen each other, but they've been on each other's mind ever since. When the day came where Roman couldn't take it anymore, not seeing her, he made it his mission to find out where she was today. Even if it was just a glance that he got, he needed to see her. There was this urge inside of him that gave him that determination.

It was a Friday, and those days were always quiet and calm, no matter what the season was and how busy the semester was. It was cloudy outside and you could just smell that rain was going to come today and Roman didn't mind. He walked into his classroom, with his bag and with cargo jeans, a plain grey, short sleeve shirt and his hair was in a low ponytail. His had plain, grey and black sandles and was actually more comfortable in that, than in his usual attire during the week with his suits.

Roman heard a soft knock and when he looked, he saw just the one person that he had been wanting to see for the past week. Katrina was standing at his classroom door and he thought she looked beautiful today. She had on jean shorts, a pink flowy shirt, and her long chestnut brown hair was out and in soft and wet curls. Her bag was in her hand and she smiled up at Roman from the door.

"I was starting to wonder when I would see you again." He admitted.

"You were?" She asked as she walked in and stood close by to him.

He nodded and noticed the piercing in her ear which he seemed to like. "You left me wanting more and we didn't even talk that much. I liked whatever it is that we shared the last time that we talked."

Katrina looked at Roman and thought about how gorgeous he looked. To her, Roman looked normal and it seemed as if he felt natural in the clothes that he was wearing. Those of eyes of his made her feel a bit weak and the way that he looked at her, gave Katrina butterflies and she couldn't help but smile.

"So what does that mean?" Katrina asked him, curiously.

Roman thought for a moment. "Would you like to grab a bite to eat for lunch after I'm done?"

"That sounds good." She replied. "I almost thought that you wouldn't be here today."

"I would say the same for you." Said Roman. "I thought you didn't have any classes this semester."

Katrina shook her head. "I don't. But I help out in the library for like half a day and then I have the rest of the afternoon off. I was off today and so I asked one of my friends if they could bring me here today. I wanted to look for you."

Roman looked at her, with surprise at the admittance. "I don't mind thinking about you. You're a distraction though."

Katrina looked at him and before she could say anything in return, she blushed when she realized what he had meant by that as she saw his eyes traveling up and down.

"I will be staying here then, until you finish." Said Katrina as she went to a seat in the corner and smiled at him. "I could be your guest student for the day."

"You're trying to get me in trouble with my students." He replied with a chuckle.

She grinned innocently as he walked over to her. "I'm not trying to do anything. I'm just patiently waiting for you to finish so we could have some lunch together. That's all."

Just as he was about to say something, one of his students walked in and greeted Roman followed by a few other students who came in afterwards. Roman went to shake Katrina's hand and felt something against their hands. When he pulled away, he noticed that it was a piece of paper that was folded up.

Roman went to his desk and sat down as he opened up the paper and saw some writing on it as well as a phone number. It said the following underneath the number:

_'Here's my number. Don't lose it._ _-Katrina Rodriguez'_

_**Two hours later...**_

As Roman was driving, Katrina looked out the window as he drove towards a place that she's never been to before. It was like a secret spot that few knew about but it was enough knowledge about it, for the owners to have kept it around for almost twenty years. There's quite a bit of locals that know about the place, and Katrina was about to become the next one.

"This place looks nice." She said as she got out of the car. It looked like a neat, modern version of a beaten down shack, and she still thought it looked nice. Roman was becoming more intrigued by this girl as the minutes went by.

They went inside and she saw that it looked similar to a diner, and it had that family feel to it, which she loved. They took a booth and began to look at the menu to see what they wanted. After ordering, Roman saw his best friend a few tables away and smiled when Dean recognized him.

"Katrina, this is Dean. He's my best friend." Said Roman. "Dean, this is Katrina. The girl I've been telling you about."

She smiled up at Dean and greeted him. The reason behind that smile was the fact that Roman talked about her to his best friend and they barely knew each other.

"Now I see why you're always talking about her." Said Dean as he wiggled his eyebrows, making Katrina laugh.

Dean went back to his table and Roman turned his attention to the blue eyed beauty that was sitting in front of him.

"So where are you from?" He asked.

"I'm from New York." She replied. "Born and raised. I moved here after graduating high school so I could go to college. How about you?"

Roman smiled. "I'm from Pensacola but I went to Georgia Tech for college. I came here about a year or two after graduating."

"How is it that you got into coaching the football team?" Katrina asked.

"I wanted to play football in college, and so I did." Roman replied. "I almost made pro, after graduating but it didn't work out. So coaching is the closet that I can get to football. Have you ever done any sports or are you interested in any?"

Katrina thought for a moment. "I did gymnastics and dance since I was about three. But when I was in my first year of college, I stopped. Though I still try to find opportunities to dance. Stripping will never be one of those opportunities. I don't care how much it pays."

"Roman?" Someone asked. When they both looked, they saw a two toned man walking towards them with a carriage and a women. Roman cursed under his breath when he saw them and looked out the window.

"Seth...Janelle. How have you two been?" He asked.

Katrina could tell that it put him under distress, seeing them and she couldn't help but wonder why.

"We've been good." Replied Seth. "It's nice to see you're doing well." He added when he saw Katrina. She gave them a small smile and tried not to stick her nose in their business.

"Roman, I think we need to talk about what happened." Said Janelle as they looked at him. "It's been almost two years since we've last seen each other and we never got to talk about what happened."

"What is there to say, Janelle?" Asked Roman who now had a bit of hurt in his eyes. For some reason, Katrina cared deeply about how he felt and wanted to make sure that he was smiling. "We can't go back and change what happened and I can't ever forget it."

Seth sighed. "We're not asking you to forget. We're just asking if we could talk it out."

"I'll give you three some privacy." Said Katrina as she was about to get up from the table.

Roman gently grabbed her hand to get her to stay. "No, I want you to know what happened so that you won't get taken by surprise about any of this, later on."

She sat back down and moved closer to Roman as Seth and Janelle sat with them as they kept the stroller with a cute little boy, beside them.

"I met Janelle freshman year of college." Roman began. "We started dating our sophmore year and it was great. Or so I thought. I was in love with this woman and I tried to give her everything that I could, to make her happy. She got pregnant almost a year after we finished college and I was excited because I was going to be a father. Being a father is something that I still want to this day."

Katrina's blue eyes darted back and forth between the three of them as Roman continued to tell the story. "I was there for her throughout the entire pregnancy. Every appointment that had to do with the baby, I made sure that I made every single one of them, even if I was a few minutes late. This was going to be my child and I didn't want to miss a thing."

"The day that she went into labor, Seth came to the hospital." Continued Roman. "Seth and I met at around the same time that I met Dean and Janelle knew both of them pretty well. It's like we skipped the friendship part and went straight into being brothers, all three of us. I didn't think anything of it because Dean was there too. But when I started to think about it, I realized that Dean had just recently moved to where we were from Las Vegas. Seth still lived in Iowa."

"Roman..." Said Seth as if, not wanting him to continue.

He held up his hands, as if telling Seth that he was going to continue, regardless. "I had family in California and they weren't able to make it that day, so how was Seth able to make it from Iowa when the last time I checked, he wasn't anywhere near us the day Janelle went into labor. I pulled him aside with Dean and Seth told me that he was there because he was the baby's father. How could it be is the first thought that ran through my mind. Who wouldn't think that?"

"Seth admitted to me that one day, while I was visiting my family in Pensacola, he was hanging out with Janelle to keep her company. One thing let to another and they had sex, which turned into something that they continued until she got pregnant. Here I was thinking that it was me because there were times when I didn't wear a condom. We got a DNA test done after the baby was born and it turns out that Seth is the biological father which put truth to everything that he told me."

"Roman, we're really sorry." Said Janelle and Seth. "We didn't mean to."

He scoffed. "I don't believe that apology because I don't believe that it's true. You two knew what you were doing and how it could possibly affect us and everything that we shared with each other, yet you continued to do it. So how are you sorry?"

They sat there quiet, with nothing to say, knowing that Roman had a point. "The two of you had me thinking for nine months that the baby was mine. And nobody ever said a thing until Janelle went into labor. Seth then got mad at Dean because he was trying to defend me. I felt stupid and embarrased when I had to break the news to my family. I saw little things and I didn't put any of it together until after it all happened. The late nights that Janelle had on the phone for days at a time. The moments where she would be on the phone, arguing and then all of a sudden act wierd when I came into the room. Seth would come and stay more frequently than what he normally did and came with countless excuses so that we could believe him. The times when I saw a car pulling out of our driveway and not once did I ever press them to tell me anything because I thought that Seth would never to that to me. I left Janelle and severed ties with Seth. I was hurt and embarrased by the situation. So what do the two of you really want to talk about with me?"

Janelle and Seth again, sat in silence knowing that Roman had a right to be upset about the situation. Roman spoke again.

"What I want to know is...why?" Roman asked. "Did I do or say something to make either of you believe that doing what you did to me was the answer?"

"It was clouded judgement." Said Janelle. "We should have known better. We're really sorry, Roman. For everything."

He shook his head. "I don't think that I could ever trust either one of you again. I forgive the both of you because I feel like that is what has helped me move on. Bu tas far as having anything to do with the two of you...that's still up in the air. It's to be determined."

Janelle and Seth nodded their heads in understanding what was said. As they were getting up, the waitress finally bought our food and when she left, Roman excused himself and walked out of the restaurant. Katrina looked up at the two people that were standing in front of me with the baby and the stroller. She asked the waitress if she could make sure nobody touches our food as she went after Roman to check on him.

He was standing by his black Tahoe, with his hands in his pockets. Katrina automatically hugged him when she reached him and felt his arms go around her waist as his chin rested on the blue eyed girl's shoulder.

"Are you okay?" Katrina whispered in his ear.

Roman stood there in her arms for a while, in silence. "I'll be okay. It just bought back memories and even though I'm over it, that doesn't mean that it didn't hurt."

They both pulled back, but stayed in each other's arms as the sky darkened. "You can't count on me, if that makes you feel any better."

He looked into her eyes and smiled. "What do you think people in school are going to say?"

Katrina shrugged. "It's none of their business what happens between you and I. Meaning, I won't tell them a damn thing."

Roman chuckled. "I like you, Katrina."

She smiled and looked up when thunder and lightning started to be seen and heard from all around them. Katrina grabbed his hand and pulled him back into the restaurant where they ate their food and left alone by Seth and Janelle. Nothing was going to ruin the rest of their day today.


	3. Chapter 3

**Thank you to justkimmy, princessofdarkness2016, Ctinaisfashion, Alexandria M and Slytherin Studios for reviewing :)**

The next two weeks went by as Roman and Katrina began to hang out more and more. Dean wasn't far behind as he wanted to get to know this woman that his best friend couldn't stop talking about. Either Roman would meet her in the library, or she would come up to his classroom, depending on the day because of how the schedule was different on certain days out of the week.

The weekend came around and Roman decided to ask Katrina to go to the beach with him today. The sun was out, the temperature was high and there was barely any clouds in sight. Roman drived over to Katrina's condo and knocked on her door. He wore a black wife beater with his swimming trunks and his hair in a ponytail. When she opened the door, his eyes lingered as he saw the two piece, black bathing suit that she wore, showing her curves and her sunkissed skin. Katrina smelled of coconut but that was because of the sunscreen that she had used. Her long chesnut brown hair was up in a bun and she had something in her hand that she would end up putting over her bathing suit.

"You ready to go?" Asked Roman as he continued to allow his eyes to linger on her body.

"Yeah, let me just get my bag and my keys." She told him as she let him in and grabbed her bag with her keys, right next to them.

Katrina bit her lip without allowing Roman to see her because of how much she was eyeing him. The way that he looked, made her want to discover every inch of his body and learn more of how it moves. She wanted to connect with him on a deeper level and talking to him on the phone, on video chat, and in person, wasn't enough. Their physical chemistry became stronger and stronger, making it harder each and every time for them to stay away from each other.

When they got to the beach, Roman couldn't help but notice the eyes that followed Katrina as they walked. They knew just as well as he did that she was attractive. Her dancing and gymnastics background helped keep her body in shape and with those curves of hers, no guy was able to resist. Roman couldn't help but feel some kind of jealousy. All of these guys were paying attention to her and she wasn't even his to say that he was her boyfriend.

They picked a spot to sit at and Katrina looked on as he took off his shirt. She bit her lip and held back a moan as she saw abs and muscles making their way from underneath his shirt. She laid down after perfectly spreading out her towel and sighed happily as the sun rays hit her skin.

Roman licked his lips as he looked at her and laid down next to her, wondering what she was thinking about. They've come to know each other well enough to know when something was wrong with the other.

"The reason why I don't allow myself to get as emotionally close to someone as I would like is because of what happened between my parents." She said softly after a few more minutes of silence.

Roman looked over at her and gently laced his fingers with hers when he reached out to them. "What happened with your parents?"

Katrina took a few more minutes before answering. "When I was in my freshman year of college, she was gone almost all week. My sister and I thought that it was because of work. My dad was told by my mother that it was because of her wanting to spend some time with her friends. One day, she came back from a supposed girl's weekend and served my dad with divorce papers. Come to find out, she had been having an affair with a coworker and that she was going to move in with the guy. After serving my dad with the papers, she literally did just that. My mother packed up her things and left, leaving my sister and I with my dad."

Roman took out his hair and propped himself up on his elbow. Katrina looked up into his eyes and felt at ease. "I didn't see her again until they went to court to settle the divorce. When it came to the custody agreements, my sister didn't have to worry because she was already eighteen, which left me by myself because I didn't turn eighteen until a few months afterwards. What made me really upset was that when the judge gave my dad full, physical custody of me because of her abadoning my sister and I...my mother didn't fight for me to make sure that she at least got visitation. Hell, she didn't even seem uspet with the fact that I wasn't in her custody, yet she claimed that she loved me."

"Katrina, I'm sorry." Said Roman as he saw her eyes fill up with tears.

She sat up, revealing the tattoo on her spine and the newly gotten tattoo on her shoulder that read '_LIve, Love, Faith, Hope'_. "College was so hard for me and it was even harder after she left. I had nobody to turn to because everywhere I looked, people were older than me. I felt like I was forced to grow up, mentally and emotionally and as if there wasn't anybody who could understand what I felt like being under the age of eighteen, in college filled with people eighteen and over, wanting to party and drink and have fun and me not being allowed to fully experience the college life."

Katrina looked up at Roman as he sat up. "I saw how badly my mother hurt my dad and I don't want to go through that. He's sacrificed so much to take care of us after my mom left, but I don't want to get hurt. Another thing is that if anything were to happen between you and I on a romantic level and people at school find out, there's a possibility that you could get into trouble, Roman. I may not be your student, but I'm still considered a student at that school. Hell, I myself, could get into trouble because, again, I'm still a student and you're a professor. I don't want to get you into trouble, Roman and I don't want to make you lose a job that you love because of me. But I also don't want to risk you hurting me because you prefer to save your job rather than try to be with me. I may be old enough for us to be together, but look at the obstacles that lie in our way if something were to ever happen between us."

Katrina got up and walked towards the water. Roman stood up and followed her into the water. Going under, he swam a bit until he reached her. Katrina rose up out of the water and faced him.

"What are you trying to say?" He asked, softly as if hurt.

Katrina shook her head. "I'm not trying to say anything, Roman. I like you and I mean, _really _like you. My thing is nto wanting to get hurt and not wanting you to get into trouble if people at school find out. Whatever goes on between you and I will not be safe if at least one person finds out. _That _is what I'm trying to say."

"I can't just erase my feelings for you, Katrina." Roman told her as he grabbed her hands.

"I'm not telling you to because I don't want you to stop having feelings for me." She replied. "I know I won't be able to stop my feelings for you either. But what are we going to do Roman? I have at least one to two more semesters left before I get to graduate. Are we really going to wait that long for each other? How do I know that you won't stop liking me and want someone else?"

Roman was silenced and allowed the waves to hit him as he tried to enjoy the water. Katrina could tell that what she had said, put a lot into his mind for him to think about and she wondered if she had ruined the moment. Roman noticed the look on her face and pulled her to him, feeling as she glided through the water to him.

"I understand what you're trying to say." He told her. "I just don't know what to do and I feel frustrated because I feel like we have to struggle to be together if it's something that we want."

As the day went on, Katrina and Roman found themselves flirting and wanting to touch each other, but at times, held back because of the uncertainty of their status. Dean noticed the difference in Roman's attitude when they hung out later that night and wondered what was going on.

"Wanna tell me what's up?" Asked Dean.

Roman thought for a moment before responding. "What do you think about me asking Katrina out on a date?"

Dean thought about it, before giving his best friend an anwer. "I honestly can't give you a sure answer on it."

"Why not?" He asked.

Dean shrugged. "What do you want me to say, Roman? Katrina is a student and she has, I don't know how many more semesters left until she graduates and no longer has that as an occupancy. Besides, what if you get in trouble if someone at school finds out?"

"That was one of the many questions she gave me earlier today." Said Roman. "How much longer do I have to hear that?"

"Roman, we obviously care enough about you to want you think about your career." Replied Dean. "You and her date, fine. I'm okay with that, I mean I'd be surprised to find out that someone doesn't like her. Katrina is incredibly smart and beautiful. But she also has an amazing personality and a big heart. She's easy to talk to and she's always there for one, when they need it. What's not to like about her? But what are you going to do on campus with each other?"

He looked at Dean, confused. "What do you mean?"

"You're going to keep each other a secret?" Asked Dean. "Maybe that's another reason why she had so many questions about it. Because she may feel like she's going to get hurt."

"But I'm not a douche bag." Said Roman. "I'm faithful, remember?"

Dean looked at him and blinked a few times. "Then show her that. Listen, if you like her that much to want to ask her out on date, that's perfectly fine by me, Roman. Katrina is an amazing girl and I'll support the two of you all the way. But please be careful in and around campus with each other because you don't have senority on your side at that school for them to keep you if they find out. Talk to her about it, and I mean _really _talk to her about it and see what the two of you can come up with. Show her that it'll be different with you than what it was with any other guy that she has ever been with. But make sure it's what you want and not something that you'll chicken out of, weeks from now or that it's something that you want just because she looks good. Then _you'll _end up looking like the asshole."

_**Two days later...**_

When Roman finished up with a class, he went to look for Katrina in the library which happened to be in the building right next to the one in where he was in, seeing as he was now on his lunch break and knew that she would be done for the day pretty shortly. The library was pretty big and spaned an entire four floor building with shelves upon shelves of books of different kinds and of different genres. There were tables with a few students scattered among them, studying or reading. Some were just relaxing in the quietness of the library, not wanting to be bothered.

After finding Katrina in one of the aisles fixing some books, he walked up to her and took her in his arms as they embraced in a hug. Before it lingered for longer than what it should have, they both pulled back and looked at each other before Katrina went back to fixing the last of the books that she had with her.

"I wanted to talk to you quickly about our conversation on Saturday." Said Roman in a quiet voice.

"I'm listening." She replied as she looked up at him. "Is it okay if I keep with the books while I listen?"

Roman nodded and thought about what to say next. "I'm not going to give up on us, no matter what. I want you and you're the first person that I've wanted since Janelle."

Katrina looked up at him and saw the desire in his eyes when he looked at her. She smiled softly and looked down at the books in her hand. That was the first time that any guy has ever admitted to her that they wanted her and she felt her cheeks grow warm.

"I'm just scared." She whispered to him, softly.

"About what?" He asked.

Katrina putted a book back after making sure that it was in good condition and turned her attention back to Roman. "I already told you what I'm scared of, which also happens to be my worries."

Roman sighed and rubbed his face with his hands. "Katrina, I'm trying to think of something to show you that I want you, regardless of what everybody here thinks and I feel like that doesn't even matter to you because it's like all you're thinking about it what you're afraid of when it comes to us."

"I am paying attention, Roman!" She exclaimed quietly so that they wouldn't bring any unwanted attention to themselves. "Aren't you afraid?"

"Afraid of what?" He asked.

Katrina looked around before responding. "Afraid of getting hurt."

Roman looked at her seriously before turning his attention to something else. "I have been for almost two years now because of what Janelle and Seth did to me. Just because I act like I don't think about it, doesn't mean that I'm not afraid that it'll happen again. But that's supposed to stop me from wanting you and feeling the way that I do towards you, no matter what are situation is right now?"

She looked up at him and then back down, without saying anything. Katrina heard him sigh and saw him looking down at his feet. She could see the sadness on his face and it broke her heart because she didn't mean to make him sad. But she was just so afraid and it was keeping her from wanting to do anything because she wanted to emotionally protect herself from harm.

"Why are you allowing your fear of something change you and keep you from getting something?" He asked quietly.

Katrina looked up at him and felt a lump in her throat. "I haven't changed, Roman."

"Yeah, you have." He responded. "When we met, you were dancing in a place filled with strangers, yet that didn't stop you from dancing. When we first started talking, the fact that we didn't know anything about each other, didn't stop you from talking to me. The physical pain from getting a tattoo, didn't stop you from getting one. Katrina...you were this beautiful woman who oozed confidence with every step that you took and every word that you spoke. No matter what your fear was of whatever you did...you did it anyways. But when it comes to liking someone and being with them, you don't want anything to do with it because you're too afraid and you no longer have that confidence that helped me fall for you. Where's that girl that I find myself falling for and thinking about every night?"

Katrina finished up her books in an effort to hide the tears that were filling up in her eyes, threatning to fall down her cheeks. She didn't realize that trying to push him away was hurting not only her, but him.

"You push me away and I'm trying to be understanding, but what else am I supposed to do?" Asked Roman. "Katrina, you keep pushing me away every time it seems as if we have made one step further towards a good thing. If we have to go without telling anybody here in school, then so be it. I guess it's just one of those cases where I want and need something, or in this case, someone that I can't have."

When he heard her sniffle to help keep her nose from running, he tried to get a glimpse of her face. Roman saw Katrina's wet cheeks from the tears as she tried to get her long hair to hide her face.

"Um, it's time for me to go." Said Katrina as she looked at the time on her phone. "There's someone who usually comes in at around this time to pick up where I left off if I didn't finish what I was supposed to. I'll see you around."

"Wait..." Said Roman as she tried to stop her from walking away. Katrina turned to face him and he saw the gloss in her eyes from the tears and mentally slapped himself. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean for any of that to sound harsh or as if I didn't like you anymore."

Her face got slightly red, from wanting to cry again but she got herself together and walked away. He watched as she turned the corner and saw how not once, did she look back like she usually did. Roman immediately regreted the way he went about saying what he had told her and wondered if there was a different way that he could have said it. As he looked around, he cleared his throat, grabbed his bag, and left.


	4. Chapter 4

**Thank you to justkimmy and Slytherin Studios for reviewing :)**

"What's going on, my friend?" Asked Dean as he walked into Roman's townhouse on a Friday.

Roman's house was two stories and with three bedrooms, two and a half baths with kitchen, living room and a small backyard.

"I thought you'd be with Katrina tonight." He added as he sat down on the couch.

He sat next to his best friend and sighed. "I thought I'd be with her tonight too, but I don't know."

Dean looked at the six foot three Samona sitting next to him. "What happened?"

Roman sighed and told him everything that had happened. "Katrina hasn't replied to my phone calls and texts and when she does, she doesn't talk much. Usually she passes my classroom to say hi before and after she does the library thing and whatnot, but she hasn't done that either."

Dean shook his head and looked at him again. "I'm glad that you tried to talk to her, that's a plus. But you still need to work on it."

"What do you mean?" Roman asked.

"You need to listen to her, Roman." Said Dean. "She's scared of getting hurt, and instead of you trying to comfort her and making her feel better about the situation, listen to what you ended up telling her. You want her, you've made that very clear. But it's also the first time that she's probably been in a situation where she wants to be with someone who's a professor at her school. Of course, that's going to be another reason for why she gets hesitant to try anything more than what she already has and you're not understanding what she's feeling or trying to say. From what you're telling me, that's exactly what it sounds like. I haven't talked to her in a few days, so I have no idea what the hell she's thinking."

"You sure you didn't take up Psychology or something in school?" Roman asked, jokingly.

Dean chuckled before looking back at his friend, thinking before saying anything. "It's possible that's just trying to create some space so that the two of you can calm down before talking again. Or it could be because of something else and she's obviously not telling us. Either way, reagrdless of why she hasn't talked to you much over the last few days, you _need _to listen to her, man. Find out exactly what she wants from you and from this situation. Don't be so hard on her, Roman."

They were both quiet for a while before either one of them spoke again. "Do you think that it's a possibility that she's more innocent than we think?"

Dean looked at Roman. "In what way are we talking about here? There's different ways that somebody could be innocent."

"When it comes to relationships." Said Roman. "Ever since we both started talking to her, not once has she ever mentioned ever being a relationship before and she did mention that her dad didn't let her date until she was eighteen."

They both looked at each other curiously before Dean's eyes widened. "It's possible. Katrina was really young when she started college and she's only twenty-two. It's hard to tell though. She's doesn't act like she's never had one, if that's the case."

"I mean, that makes it a lot more understandable as to why she may be scared." Said Roman.

Meanwhile, Katrina was with her closet friend, Derek, who she met on her very first day of college. He's two years older than her, but they've been there for each other every step of the way. What makes it even better, in Katrina's opinion, is that he likes guys just as much as she does and she can always count on him to be a shopping buddy. While they were at the mall, he noticed that his closet friend wasn't her normal self and wanted to help her feel better.

"How are you and this mystery guy of yours?" Derek asked. Katrina never mentioned who he was or the fact that he's in the school for fear of how me may react.

After telling him what had happened a few days ago, Derek hugged her and rubbed her arm in an effort to comfort her.

"I want to know who this mystery guy is." Said Derek. "I want to see if he's as physically attractive as you make him out to be."

Katrina smiled and looked down, wondering if she should tell him. "You have to promise that you won't tell anyone who it is. I really mean that, Derek. You can't tell anyone."

He looked at her seriously and faced her as they both leaned against the railing. "Who is it?"

She thought for a moment, feeling her stomach in knots and spoke quietly. "It's Professor Reigns. He's also the new coach for the football team."

Derek's eyes widened when he realized who it was. "Isn't that the gorgeous new English Professor who has long black hair, sexy grey eyes, and a tattoo on his arm?"

Katrina nodded and heard him gasp. She groaned and closed her eyes, covering them with her hands, wondering if she did the right thing.

"No, no, no." He said pulling at her hands. "Girl, I can't be mad at you for that. I've talked to him a few times for that story that I told you I was writing. I heard he's an amazing English teacher and so I thought I'd ask him for his opinion on my stories. He seems like a really nice guy."

"That's part of why I'm nervous about this whole situation with him." Katrina told him. "I don't want him to get in trouble if anybody at school finds out. Especially if it's the wrong person that does. But I don't want him to keep me a secret. I want him to be proud of me enough to show me off to everybody and not be afraid to do so."

Derek sighed and looked at her. "I promise to not tell anybody. We can't help who we like and by the way you talk about him, you're completely into this guy. I know you though. This whole not wanting to get hurt thing and him getting into trouble is not the only reason you hesitate. Is it because you've never had a boyfriend before?"

Katrina's cheeks turned pink as she nodded. "He doesn't know that though. I would feel embarrased if I told him."

"Why?" He asked. "That's nothing to be ashamed about, sweetie."

"Because I'm twenty-two and I've never had a boyfriend." Replied Katrina.

Derek looked at her like she was crazy. "If he likes you as much as he claims, then it shouldn't matter to him and you know that. Besides, any guy would be crazy to not want anything to do with an amazing woman like you."

She nodded, knowing that he was right. They continued to shop as she tried to relax for later on tonight, because she would be dancing at an event at the beach. Somebody saw her perfomance at the club that she sometimes dances at, and invited her to dance with them. Katrina was excited, because this would be the first time in years in where she would be performing in front of a crowd as large as what's expected to be at the beach for the event. But she was also a bit down because she wanted Roman to be there, and watch. He had become one of her biggest fans when it came to her dancing and she knew that she would miss his cheering.

_**Later that night...**_

Dean and Roman were on their way to the beach in Roman's black Tahoe because of Dean insisting that they go tonight.

"Are you really not going to tell me why we're going to the beach at this time?" Roman asked.

Dean shook his head. "Nope. You'll find out for yourself when we get there. Just know that I think you'll like what you see."

When they parked the car, they got out and walked around. Roman looked all around him to figure out what could have made Dean want to convince him to go there tonight. He was wearing his white, wife beater, and beige cargo shorts. He had his long hair pulled back in a bun and his favorite sandles.

They walked up to a stage that was set up with a white background that looked similar to a dome. There was already a crowd forming around the stage and taking some pictures. When they walked up to the stage they saw a woman dressed in a white, long and flowy pants, and a white shirt that showed her stomach and her sunkissed skin. Her long chestnut hair was in a neat bun and Roman could see her strong blue eyes and immediately knew that it was Katrina who had taken the stage.

Katrina looked out into the crowd and saw Roman standing there with Dean right next to him. Her breathe caught in her throat as the host announced her as she started to feel butterflies again when she realized how he looked at her. Roman had that look of desire in his eyes, just like he did a few days ago at the library and she tried to hide the shades of pink that were appearing on her cheeks.

"How did you know she was going to be here?" Asked Roman as he smiled when she began to dance.

Dean was quiet for a moment before he responded. "You've been miserable the last few days, so I tried to see where she would be today so that you could see each other. I didn't tell her anything about either one of us being around so that she wouldn't hesitate to tell me anything."

"You're a good friend, you know that Dean?" Said Roman and Dean nodded in approval.

After Katrina had finished dancing, the crowd erupted into a cheer as she smiled and gave a bow before waving and walking off the stage. I made my way through the crowd and saw her walking down the steps on the side of the stage and hugged somebody that walked up to her.

"Can I have an autograph because that was amazing." Said Roman as he reached her and saw the light in Katrina's eyes when she saw him.

The person whom she hugged, turned around to see who was talking to her and Roman froze in his tracks when he saw that it was a current student in the Master's program.

"Mr. Gates, I didn't know you two were friends." Said Roman, trying to act normal.

Derek gave a small smile, but gave Katrina a knowing look. "We met on our first day of school and we've been inseperable ever since. I didn't know you were going to be here, Professor Reigns."

"My friend told me about an event that was happening here tonight, so I came along. I didn't know Ms. Rodriguez was going to be here." Roman partially lied. Dean didn't tell him about an event, hell Roman didn't even know that anything was happening tonight at the beach. The truth was that he really didn't know he was going to see Katrina, but there was a happiness inside of him when he did that he was now having trouble containing.

Derek smiled when he saw the chemistry between Roman and his best friend, Katrina and knew what she had meant whenever she had talked about him.

"I'll leave you two. I will be getting some ice cream." Said Derek as he walked away. Dean called him to catch up to him, as if knowing that it was his cue to leave as well, leaving Katrina and Roman by themselves.

"Can we talk?" Asked Roman when he made sure that nobody else that they knew from school was around.

Katrina nodded and led the way to the boardwalk after letting the host know where she was going to be. They leaned against the railing of the boardwalk as she tried to fan herself with her hands in an effort to cool off.

"I'm sorry about the other day in the library." Said Roman. "I genuinly didn't mean to come off harsh or as if I didn't like you or anything like that. I should have been more sensitive and understanding to what you were trying to tell me. And I regret acting like that and to know that how I acted got you upset...I feel like a douchebag."

She stayed quiet for a moment as she grabbed the water bottle that she took on her way off the stage and drank some. "I'm not mad anymore about what happened, but it hurt. I realized that I'm pushing you away and I didn't think about how it would affect you or us and I apologize for that. But I didn't think that you'd say the things that you said."

"I want to make it up to you." He said softly.

Katrina looked into his grey eyes and knew that he was telling the truth. "I need to know that you're different from every other guy that I have ever met. That if you really are different, that it's going to be consistent and not an on and off type of thing as if I'm going to be okay with that, because I'm not. I need to know that you're worth it."

"Give me a chance and I'll show you." Roman replied.

She thought for a moment before responding. "With the last day of school being yesterday, I'm going to Virginia Beach for almost two weeks with Derek for vacation. I thought you should know."

"With Derek?" He asked with a slight tone of jealousy.

Katrina smiled when she noticed and placed her hands on his shoulders. "In case you haven't noticed, he bats for the same team as I do. Nothing's going to happen."

Roman nodded. "Yeah, yeah...I knew that."

She smiled and laughed just as Derek and Dean came back with some ice cream. Derek allowed her to try some of his and Roman smiled when she wanted to be reminded to get some after the show. After talking for a while longer, the host of the show came up to Katrina to let her know that she would be needed back up on stage in a few minutes. She followed him and waited by the side of the stage.

Roman, Dean and Derek cheered loudly when she went back up on stage and waved to the crowd. Her, as well as the other dancers all gave a bow and thanked everybody for coming out tonight to see them. She got her things together after finishing up the night and met up with the guys .

"You were really good tonight." Said Roman as he whispered in her ear. She smiled and blushed, as she felt his fingers lightly graze against hers and feeling his lips close to her ear.

_**Two weeks later...**_

As Katrina and Derek made their way through the Newport News/Williamsburg Airport in Virginia, she took out her phone to let Roman know that they were in Virginia and on their way to get a rental. He quickly replied back and she couldn't help but smile.

"How long is it going to take from here to get to the beach?" Asked Derek.

"Without traffic, it should take about 45 minutes from here." Katrina replied as they got their bags into the bus that would take them to where they could rent their cars.

Derek looked over at Katrina and saw her smile with each text that she recieved. He smiled knowing that it was from Roman, and gave her some privacy until she finished. They decided to take some pictures and post them up to Instagram and Twitter. They were going to make it a mission to have a good time for the next week or two without any problems.


	5. Chapter 5

**Thank you to justkimmy for reviewing :) **

Katrina and Derek were in their hotel room, enjoying the air conditioning that was in the room. It was an ocean front hotel and they loved the balcony that lead to the beach and the boardwalk. It was filled with people walking around and enjoying the water on a warm summer day.

After putting their things away and settling down, they made their way to the nearest supermarket to get some food and soda for a few days. Once they got back to their hotel room after about an hour, they heard a soft knock on their door. They looked at each other wndering who it could be, since they weren't expecting anybody to come see them.

Katrina slowly opened the door and gasped softly when she saw Roman and Dean standing outside of her hotel room. Roman smiled at her when she gave him the sweetest smile that she had ever given him. He walked in a bit and picked her up when she went to give him a hug.

"Roman." Katrina said softly in his ear.

He sighed happily and tightened his arms around her as she kept hers hooked around his neck. Roman slightly buried his face in her neck and took in her scent before whispering against her skin. "Katrina."

When he put her down, he cleared his throat when he saw Derek standing behind them, with a knowing smile and look on his face.

"I can't explain myself out of this with you, can I?" Asked Roman as Dean walked in behind him and greeted Katrina and Derek.

Derek shook his head. "Nope. I was beginning to wonder who was this mystery guy that she kept talking about, and now I see that it's you."

He lied. Katrina had told him about Roman before they came to Virginia but decided to not say anything, to not risk anything between them. He finished putting things away with Dean's help while Katrina and Roman went outside to the hallway to talk.

"What are you doing here?" Asked Katrina, still in surprise from seeing him here. "I didn't know you were coming."

Roman smiled at her. "Two weeks ago, you told me that you were coming here and right before you left, you said that what I decide to do with that information is up to me. Dean and I looked up some hotels here in the area and we got the last vacant room in this hotel. So yesterday, when Dean and I said that we were busy, it was because we were on our way here. We got here a little over an hour ago and we were trying to find our way here."

"You came all the way up here for me?" Katrina asked.

"I told you that I like you and that I wanted to make it up to you." Said Roman. "I meant every word of that. Can I take you out tonight?"

Katrina smiled at him. "Yes, I'd like that."

_**Three hours later...**_

Katrina has spent the last three hours, looking through every piece of clothing that she had bought along with her and Derek was right there with her, helping out. Finally picking an outfit, she quickly took a shower and began to get ready and heard a knock on the door ten minutes before Roman was supposed to come pick her up.

"He's early." She said in a bit of a panicky tone.

"That's a good thing." Said Derek. "You look gorgeous, Honey, don't worry."

Derek opened the door and saw Roman standing on the other side of the door. He had on a white, button up shirt with short sleeves, cargo shorts and a pair of comfortable looking sandles with his hair in a small and neat bun. He smelled like the 1 Million colonge by Paco Rabanne which Katrina could smell from behind Derek. He had shaven and Derek had to admit, Katrina seemed to have good taste in guys when it comes to their physicality.

Roman smiled when he saw her in a pink dress that reached her knees and had thin straps, beige sandles, and her hair in a French braid. She smelled of Strawberries and had lipgloss on with diamond studs on her ears. He loved the fact that she never wore makeup and yet, she seemed to look pretty every single time.

"You look beautiful." Said Roman as he walked in and gave her a hug.

She blushed and thanked him. Katrina took her matching pink purse that had her phone, wallet, and one of the hotel keys in case Derek wasn't in the room when she came back. Before Roman walked out of the room behind her, Derek gently grabbed his arm, making him turn around to face him.

"I won't tell anybody about the two of you, if that's what you both want. I'll make that promise to you and her, and I'll keep it." Derek said. "I'm really good at keeping a promise. But if you hurt her, I'm going after you first. Katrina is like my sister and I love her very much."

"Thank you, and I'll make sure to make her happy." Said Roman. "Can I ask you a question though, that I've been wanting to ask." Derek nodded, wanting to hear his question. "Has she ever had a boyfriend before?"

Derek looked at him carefully before responding. "No, she's never had one. And between you and I...she's never been kissed either. So make it extra special for her and be extra good to Katrina. For the first time since I met her, she has finally found a guy that genuinely likes and cares for her. Don't think I don't notice the way you look at Katrina. You have a desire in your eyes for her and it's as if she's the only one you see when you look at her. Here's my phone number."

He took Roman's phone and wrote down his number. Roman filled in the rest of the information needed before finally adding the new contact to his phone.

"If it feels right, kiss her. She's been talking about you for weeks now. I'm surprised you haven't done it yet." Said Derek. "Katrina's obviously waiting for you to make the first move. If something happens, of if you just need an opinion or a piece of advice, call or text me and I'll try to help you out."

Roman nodded and made his way out to the hallway and meet up with Katrina. They made their way outside the hotel and felt the warmth of the Summer night touch their skin. She looked at him from the corner of her eye and all she wanted to do was melt into his arms. Katrina loved everything physical about him. His size, and his tattoos. Roman's grey eyes and the way that he looked at her even when they're having a normal conversation. The way he talks to her and only her as if they had their own language that nobody else understood.

"Have you been here before?" Asked Roman.

Katrina nodded. "Yeah, I used to come here every summer until I moved to Florida. My dad got a new job when we did and so we had to wait about a year for him to be able to get vacation again. So I started getting little jobs here and there over the summer, to save up some money for myself. I love coming here though. The atmosphere, the people, the feeling that I get when I'm here...it's amazing to me."

They stopped by a large crowd and tired to move towards the front to be able to see better. It was four guys introducing breakdancing and once they were done with the first number, they introduced themselves to the crowd. Katrina snuggled up to Roman when she felt a strong arm of his wrap around her waist to keep her close. He looked down at her and saw how much she enjoyed what they were doing and softly brushed his lips against her forehead, leading to her laying her head on his shoulder.

When they passed by a few clothing stores, Roman and Katrina reached a small restaurant on a corner. They went in an ordered and sat outside to eat their food when they got their order.

"I've been wanting to ask you this since the day you told me...how come you stopped dancing?" He asked as he took a sip of his soda.

Katrina swallowed her food before responding. "After my parents got divorced, my dad forced me to stop. My mom used to be a professional dancer before she got into a car accident and became a nurse. I understand, in a way, why he wanted me to stop. It bought back a lot of memories and maybe he just didn't want those memories anymore. But after about three years or so of not dancing, I felt the urge to start again. I just didn't want my dad to find out because I knew that if he did, he would still try to force me to stop. So because I was already considered an adult, I haven't told him. Besides, I dance now for fun, for pleasure...for me. I don't have any intentions of trying to become famous."

Both stayed silent for a while as they ate and watched the people pass by while listening to the music that the restaurant had before either one of them spoke up again.

"Do you like fireworks?" Asked Roman. "They give fireworks all summer on Wednsdays and Sundays at ten. If the weather allows it, I mean."

She smiled at him. "You've done your research on this place."

"Well, I figured that you have either been here before, or you've heard about this place and you've liked what you heard enough to want to try it out." Roman said.

"I love fireworks, so we'll definitely be watching them tonight." Said Katrina.

Roman smiled at her and reached across the table to grab her hands. Lacing their fingers together, he stroked her hands with his thumbs before standing up and leaning slightly across the table, careful not to knock anything over and make a mess. Just as his lips were about to land on hers, they heard a loud ruckus coming from nearby and saw that it was just a bunch of drunk college guys playing around.

Feeling as if the mood for a kiss was a bit ruined, Roman sat back down and Katrina silently felt annoyed as he did. How much longer did she have to wait to get a kiss from him? Maybe she was just getting impatient because she felt as if this whole thing wasn't going fast enough when they both knew how they felt about each other. Granted she knows that she wants Roman to make it up to her for what he did in the library, but Katrina also wants to just melt in his arms and feel his lips against hers.

Katrina wants him to be a bit more sensitive to what she wants and needs, and he even admitted that he should have been before saying the things that he said to her that day. Noticing her change of mood, Roman moved himself and his food to sit right next to her.

"How am I doing so far?" He softly asked her.

"You're going in the right direction." She replied. "Don't get lost, now."

_**Two hours later...**_

As they were walking on the boardwalk, they stopped nearby an entrance to the boardwalk. They talked as they enjoyed the atmosphere and held on to each other as they did. Taking some pictures, they decided to not post them up on social networking sites, to not allow anybody from school to see them. Katrina grabbed his hand and took him to where the sand was. Seeing that her mood had positively changed since earlier in the night, he was quick to join in and play around.

Roman chased her around until he was able to reach her and playfully, but gently, take her down. As their noses brushed against each others, the fireworks display began. The boardwalk quickly filled with those coming in from the street to watch and the hotel balconies quickly filled as well with those who were still in their hotel rooms.

Watching a display, Roman didn't realize that he had her wrapped in his arms. He looked down at her and into her blue eyes when Katrina looked up at him. Leaning on his elbow, he stroked her cheek with his thumb and slowly leaned down.

"What if we miss the fireworks?" She asked softly.

Roman shook his head. "We won't."

In that moment, he lips finally reached hers as he began to kiss her. Feeling her relax underneath him, he wrap an arm around her to deepen the kiss. They were making fireworks of their own with the kiss that they were sharing, as if it's something that they've been deprived off since the day they met. It was sweet and gentle, but filled with want and desire.

Hearing the frequency of the fireworks in the background escalade, they pulled away from each other, to see the display rise in activity before finally ending. Roman looked back at Katrina who seemed to like the part of the fireworks that she was able to catch before looking back up at Roman. They kissed again, forgetting about where they were or who was around them.

_**Three weeks later...**_

"Alright guys, bring it in." Said Roman as he stood in the middle of the locker room with his assistant coach and the guys that were trying out for the team. "Good job out there today. I know it has been a rough two weeks for everyone, but if you want to join the team, you have to do this. Even those that are returning. No special treatment for you guys."

Tryouts have been going on for the past two weeks and Roman couldn't be happier. He and Katrina have felt inseperable, even though it's been at least a week since they've seen each other. She had to get a few things done for when school started and it's kept her busy. Roman has tried to keep from getting miserable from how much he's missed her.

"With the new semester starting next week, I hope everybody has everything that they need." Continued Roman. "You already know the drill with the schedules and your textbooks. I announced the situation before the ending of last semester, with the physical that every single one of you need to have done and hopefully you have already done it. We will not run after you for it. You also know that to stay on the team, you need at least a 'C' average. Anything less, we will have to take you off the team, or at least bench you, until you bring up your average. You may love to play football, but your grades are more important. Football will not help you graduate from college. Please keep that in mind everybody."

"Another thing..." Stated the assistant coach. "Coach and I will have a few classes this semester that we'll have to teach. If you want to practice here on the field and we're not able to be here, then let us know so that we can have the equipment ready for you to practice with. We'll put up our schedules so that everyone could know when Coach and I have our classes and when we'll be free. But please put the equipment back to where they belong when you finish. Don't just leave them out there, waiting for other people to clean up after you. We're not your maids. Is that understood?"

The guys in the locker room agreed and they talked a bit more before Roman and his assistant coach, let them go for the day. After everybody left, Roman was left by himself in his office and he decided to take a quick shower instead of waiting until he got home. Getting out of the shower, he walked to his office with a towel around his waist and his hair soaking wet. Putting on a clean pair of basketball shorts and a clean wife beater, he heard a knock on the door. Turning around, he smiled when he saw Katrina standing at the door to his office.

Picking her up, she squealed in excitement as he spun her around. Keeping her in his arms, he closed the door and closed the blinds on the windows before putting her back down. He leaned down and shared a kiss with her and it quickly became more passionate than they thought it would. They knew that she may get into trouble, if she got caught in the guys' locker room, but they didn't care at the moment. She had Derek keeping an eye out on everything outside in the hallway.

Roman picked her up again and sat her on his desk, without breaking the kiss. Katrina took his face in her hands and felt his hands making their way up her legs. She leaned back onto his desk, closing her eyes in pleasure, feeling his hands on her. He pulled her to him and heard a moan excape from Katrina when his lips traveled her neck. Roman's kisses made their way all over her and made their way down to her collarbone. She arched her back and dug her fingers into his still wet hair before whimpering when Roman's hands went slightly under her skirt.

"Wait..." Katrina whispered. He quickly stopped what he was doing and looked up at her. "I don't think I'm ready for that, yet."

He smiled and got up, pulling her up with him. "It's okay, I understand."

"You're not mad?" She asked as she looked up at him with innocence in her eyes.

"No, I'm not mad." Roman said as he noticed the look in her eyes. "Why would I be mad?"

"Because there's guys that get mad when girls don't have sex with them." She replied.

Roman looked at her softly and kissed her forehead. "I'm not that kind of guy. When the time comes for that, we'll make sure it's special."

Katrina blushed and looked down. "You just want to see me blush."

He let out a deep chuckle. "As cute as you are when you do, I'm being honest."

Katrina's phone gave out an alert, letting her know that she had recieved a text message. Looking at the message, her eyes widened and she quickly got off of Roman's desk.

"It's Derek." She stated. "He said he saw somebody walking towards the locker room."

Roman quickly got his things together and turned off the light to his office. He signaled for both of them to be as quiet as they could be as he walked out first to see if there was anybody in there. He hadn't heard the door and was wondering if it was just one of those moments where he didn't hear because of being busy with something else.

Reading the new message that she recieved from Derek, she relayed the message to Roman.

"He said that the guy turned the corner, but to hurry up in case he turns around to come back."

Roman opened the door to the locker room and looked outside into the hallway. Seeing that nobody was around, he grabbed Katrina's hand and walked out. Because there were no cameras around in that area, they were both lucky that there was nothing to catch them there.

They met up with Derek outside of the school and Katrina stuck by him while Roman walked behind them, keeping his distance. It didn't help knowing that their cars were parked right next to each other and Roman couldn't help but take her back into his arms.

"I really missed you." He whispered to her, sending shivers down her back.

She smiled up at him and kissed his nose. "I've missed you, too. Can I see you tomorrow?"

Roman grinned at her. "That would make me very happy."

Katrina giggled and allowed him to kiss her again before allowing her to get into her white, Range Rover.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Babygirl." He told her, pecking her lips one more time.

"I'll see you tomorrow."


	6. Chapter 6

**Thank you to justkimmy for reviewing :) **

A little over a month into their relationship as well as the new semester, and Roman and Katrina are more crazy about each other than they were when it first began. They would find ways to tough each other, whether it was by holding hands and meeting up in the library, in between the aisles or sitting at the same table in the library.

Katrina did a double look as she made her way into her one of her classes and saw Roman looking at some papers. She walked back out and looked at the room number to make sure she hadn't walked into the wrong classroom and walked back in. She let out a sigh of relief when she saw everybody in the class that she knew and made her way to her seat by one of her friends as her and Roman made eye contact. Katrina looked at him as if asking what he was doing in her class and cleared her throat. The class settled down and began to talk.

"Good morning, everyone." He began. "I'm Professor Reigns and I'll substituting for Professor Ross until they find a better qualified canidate to take over the class until she returns. From what I understand, she had a family emergency that she had to tend to and so she won't be in for a while. I'll take the attendance and we'll get back to talking a little bit more."

The class sat in silence until he finished the attendance and as I looked around, I swore I could see some of the female students just swooning over him. I looked away, knowing that I couldn't do or say anything about it and she felt some jealousy towards them for it.

"I was asked to substitue this class at the last minute, so I wasn't able to prepare anything for you today." Said Roman. "If there's anything that you need to work on for this class or any other classes that you may have, you can do so now."

Katrina took out her laptop and began working on a research paper that she had for the class due at the end of next week. She was already two hundred pages into the research and needed a few more to go. Feeling her phone vibrate, she took it out to see who it was and saw that it was Roman who had texted her. Katrina looked up at him, without making it obvious to others that her blue eyes were making their way to him.

_Roman: Meet me today in the locker room at the usual time that we meet after school? _

_Katrina: Of course. Let me just make sure I get a few more pages done in my research for this class and I'll make my way there._

_Roman: I really like a woman with brains. I find it very attractive ;) _

Katrina blushed and quickly hid her face from everyone else. Meanwhile, Roman was approached by a one of the male students and Roman took a better look at his face when he sat down. He wondered what the student wanted, seeing as they didn't know each other.

"My name is Josh and I wanted some advice on something." Said the brown eyed guy. He was tall and lean, showing that he either worked out, played sports, or both. "There's a girl in this class and her name is Katrina. She's sitting in the front row, the one with the blue eyes."

Roman looked up at her, not because the guy was talking about her, but simply because he liked to. The guy was just a reason to do so but the way that she wore her glasses, the way that her chestnut brown hair fell in her face and the face that she made as she tried to put it back in place, it all just made him smile. "And what happened?"

"I think she's really cute, but I don't think that she even recognizes that I exist any more than what she already does and we've been friends for five years now. We've been in a lot of the same classes together and I know I'm a little older than her, but I wanted to know if you knew her or if you had any advice on what I could do." Replied Josh.

He cleared his throat, not knowing what to say. Roman could feel the change in his mood, knowing that he couldn't say anything to the student sitting beside him about Katrina being his girlfriend and it was really hard.

"I've talked to her quite a bit. I have one of her friends in a class that I teach, so I'll see her often when I have him in my class." Roman told him. "She's really nice. Focused on her studies, but nice. I suggest you just go talk to her. Start up a conversation on something that you think she'll be interested in and see if that works."

Josh thought for a moment and nodded in agreement. "I'll go do that now. The only time we'll get to talk in this class without getting into trouble. She's just so intimidating. I mean, she's incredibly smart. Katrina's a part of the National Honor Society, she maintained a 4.0 all through undergrad program and a 4.0 now for her PhD. She was even one of the very few lucky ones to win a scholarship for this program and she's only twenty-two. How many people do you know, accomplish that?"

Roman watched as he grabbed his things and made his way to the empty chair that was beside Katrina. She looked up at Josh when he asked if he could sit there and saw her nodding. She looked slightly uncomfortable and batted her eyelashes at me before going back to working on her laptop.

He saw as Josh awkwardly tried to make conversation with her. Katrina tried to be nice, but Roman knew by the change in her body language, that she just wanted to work on her paper as she kept with the conversation. Roman felt a twinge of jealousy, knowing that he had to sit there and watch another guy give his girlfriend a lot of attention without doing or saying anything against it.

"There's ten minutes left for the class, but everyone can go now if you'd like." Said Roman when he looked at the time. Katrina tried to quickly finish up typing something before turning off her laptop and closing it.

She noticed that Josh lingered around, waiting for her and she quietly sighed when she realized.

"You okay there, Ms. Rodriguez?" Asked Roman. He didn't use her first name and he didn't reach out for her like he always did, knowing that Josh was watching and listening.

"Yeah, I'm okay. I just don't feel too good." Replied Katrina. "I got sick yesterday and even though I feel a little better than I did yesterday, I still feel like crap."

He knew that she had gotten sick from something that she had eaten and so did she. They went along with each other's current and played along with each other.

"See you later, Professor." Katrina said as she went towards the door. She turned around and smiled at Roman when she looked at him.

Seeing that Josh was walking by her side, she slowed down and looked at him when she realized that he wasn't saying anything. "What is it?"

Josh looked at her and shook his head as if he didn't know what she was talking about. "What do you mean?"

"You never wait for me after class. This is the first time since we've met that you do." Katrina replied. "Is everything okay?"

He thought for a moment before responding. "Would you like to hang out today, maybe for lunch?"

Katrina looked at him in a surprised way, not expecting Josh to ask her to lunch let alone at all. A million questions ran through her head as she tried to figure out why he was interested in hanging out with her all of a sudden.

"Not today." She replied gently. "I'm having lunch today with one of my friends and we're going to see if we could talk to Professor Reigns. My friend is is one of his classes and wanted to talk to him about something. I'm sorry."

Josh remembered saying that one of her friends was in a class that he taught and that he always saw them together and nodded. "That's fine. Can I walk you to your next class then?"

She thought for a moment. "I'm done for the day, but you can accompany me to the library."

He agreed and began to walk away. Looking up from her phone, he heard Roman's voice and saw that he was talking to Derek who had bumped into him. Katrina made a 'call me' signal to Derek and played it off as if she was playing with her hair. Josh didn't notice when she did, nor did he notice the smile on her face when Roman winked at her.

When they got to the library, Derek called her and she quickly went to walk through the aisles, looking at the books and talking quietly to him. Because Roman was going to order some food for the three of us, he called mainly to remind her of the room that they were going to be in. The room was barely used in the afternoons in the building that they were going to be in and it was one of the most private classrooms in the building.

After sitting down at one of the tables and going back to working on her laptop, she saw Josh sit down in front of her with his tablet. Katrina looked up at him curiously, wondering why he's sticking around.

"I thought you had a class right now." She heard herself ask him as she typed away at her keyboard.

All he did was smile at her as he started to ask her a few questions in an effort to get to know her a little better. She was patient and kept the conversation going until it was time for her to meet up with Derek and Roman. Katrina was able to convince Josh to not walk her and that she'll see him in the next class that they had together and walked away before seeing if he left.

She got to the classroom and hugged Derek when she saw him fixing up the food. It was spanish food from a restaurant that was nearby. Turning around when she heard somebody walk in, she smiled when she saw that it was Roman.

"Hey Baby." Said Roman with a smile on his face. He placed his fingers on the nape of her neck as he leaned down for a kiss. Sighing happily, she let the kiss linger until Derek cleared his throat reminding them where they were.

"Let's not forget that the door is open." He said when we pulled away from each other.

Roman looked and closed the door, but left it slightly open. He smiled as he walked back to Katrina and gave her another kiss. She giggled against his lips but couldn't help but enjoy his lips.

_**Half an hour later...**_

"With the two of you meeting up in the locker room every now and then..." Whispered Derek so that nobody else would hear. "Have you two done the deed yet?"

Katrina and Roman looked at each other and then back at Derek for Roman to reply. "No we haven't. But with the effect that she has on me, I'm surprised I haven't gotten carpel tunnel yet."

They bursted out laughing as Katrina's face got red as she blushed deeply. She was glad that he was comfortable enough with her to admit that, but it's also something that she didn't know when it came to Roman, making her more red when it led to her thinking about what it would be like with him.

They all looked at the time and saw that another hour had passed and were surprised at how time flew by. Katrina and Derek were done for the day, but Roman had to get ready for practice. Before leaving, Katrina and Roman shared another kiss, knowing that they may not be able to until they were off campus or if they sneaked in another kiss.

Walking out of the building, they felt the fresh breeze meeting their face while they walked around campus. Katrina groaned when they all saw Josh walking towards them, but she didn't change her behavior to give anything away.

"Hey, can I talk to you?" Asked Josh when he reached the three.

"Um...okay." She replied and pulled away slightly from the group, to give her and Josh some level of privacy. She watched Derek and Roman go into their own conversation about something, and she turned her attention back to Josh.

Derek noticed how Roman's eyes continued to go back and forth between him and Katrina and Josh throughout their conversation.

"Nothing's going to happen between them. She's crazy about you." Said Derek when he turned around to see that Josh may have said something to make Katrina laugh.

"And he doesn't know that." Replied Roman. "It's hard."

Derek looked up at the man who stood beside him, and saw the look in his eyes when he saw Katrina and smiled.

"You do, don't you?" Asked Derek. "And you know what I mean. I see the way your eyes linger when you look at her, even when you don't mean to when we're in and around school. The way your face lights up when she's around, or even at the mention of her name. The way you care for her...it's different than when I first saw you two together. There's more feelings involved now behind the things you do when it comes to Katrina."

Roman looked away from Katrina and looked down. "Yeah, I do. It makes it harder for me because I know I can't do or say anything against it when I see guys giving her all of this attention. At the end of the day, Katrina's still my girlfriend. What guy in their right mind wants to see their girl with another guy and not feel some type of way when he knows that he can't anything about it?"

Katrina came back to where Roman and Derek was standing and Josh came behind her. Roman, starting to feel a bit overwhelmed, tried to get himself together. But it was beginning to feel like he couldn't breath, so he did what came to his mind.

"I really have to get to the locker room." Roman said suddenly when Josh reached them and pretended to look at his phone. Katrina's smile faded when she saw the change in his mood and frowned. "I have to start practice soon and hopefully the guys are already in the weightroom. I should get going. See you three around. Don't worry about that conversation that we had though, Derek. It stays between us."

He looked at Roman knowing what he meant and nodded in agreement. "See you tomorrow, in class, Professor."

Roman gave him a nod and continued to walk away quickly. "Is he okay?" Asked Katrina.

Derek could see the concern in her eyes, even though she was able to get her body language and facial features to not give anything away. He saw the same thing in her eyes that he did when he looked into Roman's grey eyes and nodded.

"He's fine." Derek replied. "He just really had to get to the team. They have a game coming up shortly and so he wants to make sure that they're well prepared."

"Professor Reigns is the new football coach?" Asked Josh.

Katrina and Derek both looked at him. "Yeah, he was announced as the new coach like last semester. That's also when he started working here, I believe."

Josh looked at Katrina after she responded in amazement. "You watch college football?"

"I love college football." She replied cooly. "I have since I was in middle school and as graduates, we get like 10% off on each home game. You don't watch?"

He shook his head. "I prefer the big leagues."

Looking to see if she saw Roman in the distance, she felt dissapointment when she couldn't find him any longer. She sighed and quietly and Derek was quick to notice. He knew Katrina well enough to know, or at least have an idea of what's going on with her without Katrina having to say a word. Seeing a hint of sadness starting to form on her face, he tried to at least make her smile, knowing that Josh wasn't going to leave that easily.

"You want to try that restaurant that just opened up?" Derek asked Katrina.

She nodded seeing the look on his face, getting an idea of what he was trying to do. "Maybe we can get something for dinner there too, if the food's good enough. I'll see you around, Josh."

Josh waved at them while they walked away only for Derek to see the sadness returning to Katrina's face, knowing that she had an image of Roman walking away the way that he did, and without him really saying bye to her.

"He's okay." He told her, quietly.

Katrina shook her head as she checked her phone for any new messages . "No, he's not Derek. Roman looked upset."

**A/N: Does anybody think that Roman can handle keeping them a secret in and around school as well as he thought he could and how long will he be able to last if he does? **


	7. Chapter 7

**Thank you to justkimmy, Slytherin Studios, 'Guest', and DeeMarie426 for reviewing :)**

It's been a few days since Katrina and Roman had talked and she had no idea why. Apparently niether did Derek and she had to admit, it made her sad knowing that it seemed and felt like Roman was trying to avoid her. She wondered if it had anything to do with Josh and started to think that he was the reason why he seemed distant lately. They would pass by each other and Roman would see the hurt in her eyes, and it killed him.

It made him feel worse for not talking to her until one day, he found himself texting her during a class. Luckily, they were taking a test and he frowned when Katrina never replied back. He found himself getting a bit of a taste of his own medicine and thought that she wouldn't show up to meet him in the locker room.

After practice, he went back to the weight room and drowned himself in working out after the entire team left. Roman went straight to taking a shower once he was done and leaned his head back against the wall as the water hit him as he thought about Katrina. Getting out of the shower, he put his regular clothes on and grabbed his things. When Roman looked down at his throbbing hand, he remembered the punch that he gave a locker earlier in the day, putting more of a dent to it than what was already there.

It was starting to swell a little and he decided to go to the trainers room to have it checked it out after convincing himself to do so. Roman made his way, cursing under his breath. Derek found Roman on his way there and accompanied him.

"Have you talked to Katrina today?" Asked Roman.

Derek shook his head. "I haven't talked to her since last night. I don't even know if she came to school today and she always lets me know when she gets to school."

They walked into the trainers room and Derek stayed by the door while Mr. Michaels checked his hand as Roman told him what had happened to cause his hand to start getting red and a bit swollen.

"There's nothing broken or fractured." Michaels said as he examined Roman's. "It doesn't seem to go deep enough to hurt the bone. You can move your fingers really well and it doesn't bother that much when you do. It's most likely just some bruising that's making it hurt along with the impact of when you hit it. I'm going to wrap it up, but keep from putting pressure on it. Put some ice on it as well to see if that'll help with the swelling because I'm sure that you're going to have some by the way that it's starting to look. Before I do that though, I want to get at least one x-ray to make sure that there's nothing wrong."

After they did everything that they were supposed to, Roman's hand was wrapped and had a bag of ice on it. Derek walked in and sat in front of Roman who wouldn't make any eye contact with him.

"You think she hates me?" He asked softly.

Derek looked up at him and knew who Roman was talking about. "No, she doesn't hate you. But I'm sure she's wanting to know why you haven't talked to her the last few days."

"I really do want to know." Said a voice coming from the door. It was Katrina standing there, with her arms crossed. Her long, chesnut brown hair was pin straight and reached just below the belt on her grey skinny jeans. Katrina's pink shirt, perfectly fit every curve that she had from the waist up and her blue eyes were stronger than the last time that Roman saw them. As much as he knew that Katrina may be upset with him, he couldn't help but get that thought in the back of his head about how sexy she looked when she's upset.

Derek took that as a cue to step out into the hallway and give them some privacy after giving Katrina a hug. She slightly closed the door and walked up to Roman who had his back towards the door. Stepping in the v of his legs, she gently grabbed the bandaged hand with one hand and the ice on it with her other hand.

"I'm sorry for how I've been acting towards you, lately and for not talking to you." Said Roman, barely above a whisper.

Katrina sighed and pressed her forehead against his. "Why are you acting the way that you are? Did I do or say something wrong?"

He shook his head. "No...but when I saw you and Josh talking that day after lunch, I'll admit that I got jealous. Hell, I was jealous the entire day knowing that he had your undivided attention and I couldn't even go kiss you and act like your boyfriend."

"Josh didn't have my undivided attention, Roman." She told him. "I was barely paying attention to him half the time. Part of it was because I had two research papers to finish that are worth over half of my grade and the other part was because I couldn't stop thinking about you. That was the most that we've talked since we met and I don't know why he all of a sudden cares to try."

"Because I think he likes you." Said Roman. "Or least, thinks that you're cute."

Katrina smiled when he looked down at his hand. "You were jealous?"

He looked up at her and into her blue eyes that he loved so much. "You're my girlfriend, Katrina. I want to hold your hand like all of the couples here do and kiss you in front of everyone. I want to show you off and let people see that I'm proud to have you instead of waiting until we're out of school to do that. I want to tell people that I'm taken and that I'm yours and yours alone and show it. I knew that it was going to be hard while we're at school, but it's even harder now because..."

"What is it?" She quietly asked.

Roman sat up a little straighter and looked at her. "Because I'm in love with you and I promised myself that I would never give up on us. I can't give up on the girl I love."

Katrina looked at him softly and grabbed his face with her hands. "You really love me?"

He nodded and remained serious. They heard some voices in the hallway, but nobody came into the room, so they continued their conversation. "Seeing you with Josh...it just proved to me even more, how much I'm in love with you."

She smiled at Roman and touched his nose with hers. "I'm in love you, too. But that still doesn't get you off the hook for why you've been acting like you have. It hurts when I walk past you and you don't even do anything. Not even smile. It makes me think I did something wrong."

Roman chuckled. "I know I have to make it up to you. What can I do?"

Katrina thought for a moment as she looked around. "You can start by promising me that you'll come talk to me if you ever feel like this. I won't know unless you tell me and we can't work on it if we don't communicate with each other."

"I promise." He told her. "I'm really sorry, Katrina."

"I know you are." She told him. "I understand it being hard because it's hard for me too. I want to scratch the eyes out of the girls that I see just drooling over you. But it's scary for me too because I've never been in love with anyone before."

They heard Derek say Josh's name loud enough for both of them to hear and they quickly backed away from each other. Katrina sat on the chair that was there and crossed her legs with Roman immediatley missing the warmth from her body near his. Josh peaked through the door and saw Katrina's eyes shoot straight to him with a look on her face.

"I'm sorry. I just wanted to see if you were here." Said Josh.

Roman looked at Katrina and smiled to himself, seeing the look on her face. "Is something wrong? How did you even know that I was here, I didn't tell anybody that I was coming here. All I did was ask on how to get here."

Josh thought for a moment before responding. "I asked for you and they said that you were going to meet up with a friend. I just wanted to see you is all."

"I needed to talk to Professor Reigns about something." Katrina told him. "It's important, can you wait a bit longer?"

He stood there as if he didn't hear a word that Katrina said, making her a bit annoyed. "Josh, I'm not in the mood right now for you to act like you didn't hear a damn thing that I said. I told you it's important,what I need to tell him. You have Derek to keep you company until I come back out. Now, go before my hand gives you a reason to."

"Fiesty today, aren't you?" He asked as he walked back out, closing the door completely behind him.

Katrina sighed and looked at her converse sneakers. She wanted to change into more comfortable shoes after her last class and decided to just leave her books in her car when she went to go get them. Looking up at Roman, he was already gazing at her and signaled her to come to him.

He gently grabbed her hips and pulled her to him, wrapping his arms around her as his lips met hers for a kiss. Katrina placed her hands on the sides of his face to keep kissing him as she snuggled as close to him as she could. Knowing that she was just melting in his arms, he sweetened the kiss and forgot about where they were. Feeling him tighten his arms around her, she slightly pulled away.

"I don't want you to hurt your hand anymore than what it already is." She whispered against his lips.

"Don't worry about my hand." He said as his lips brushed against hers before another kiss and felt his silky tounge pass by her bottom lip, wanting to enter her mouth. Katrina opened her mouth a little more and allowed entry. She moaned softly when she felt Roman's tounge against hers as their kiss became passionate. He felt the hard on beginning to form in his pants when he heard the sound of her moans. Roman's hands traveled down to her perfectly round bum, and gently squeezed it, making Katrina moan even more.

"Have I mentioned that you look amazing in skinny jeans?" Roman whispered huskily against her lips when he pulled back.

Katrina giggled softly. "You're a mess."

Roman grinned at her. "Can you stay the night with me?"

"I thought you were going to hang out with Dean because of the away games you have this weekend." Said Katrina, still in his arms.

He nodded. "He is, but he's leaving when it's all done. I want you to spend the remainder of the night with me."

There was just something about the way his voice sounded when he said that to Katrina, that made shivers go down her spine. She bit her lip and looked into his eyes.

"I'll get some clothes from my place and I'll go." She agreed. "Just let me know when you have your place all to yourself."

"Maybe I can make it up to you, tonight." He whispered huskily against her lips, driving her crazy and having another kiss being shared before forcing themselves to pull away from each other. Wiping any evidence from their lips, of the kiss that they had been sharing for the last five minutes, Katrina straightend out her shirt and her hair before blushing at the wink that Roman had given her before watching her walk away.

Walking out, Katrina saw Josh standing next to Derek. She crossed her arms again and stared at Josh while the trainer went back into the room to talk to Roman.

"What are you really doing here, Josh?" Asked Katrina. "I didn't tell you I was coming here to meet up with Derek and Professor Reigns."

"Why don't you trust me?" He asked.

Katrina scoffed and looked at Derek. "This is about trust now? Darling, we've known each other for five years and _now _you, all of a sudden, give a damn about wanting anything to do with me and you want me to just quickly trust that because you're nice to me?"

Josh looked at her and had nothing to say about what he had just heard. "Do you even know why Derek and I confide in him as much as we do?"

"Because he's a nice guy?" He asked, in a guessing type of tone.

"Professor Reigns is the best teacher that I've ever had." Derek answered. "He has taken the time to get to know me and he has taken the time out to get to know why I love writing so much. He has become a mentor to me and he has helped me develop my creativity and to go to a whole other level that I never thought possible."

Katrina walked closer to him. "But most importantly, he gives people a safe haven to go and talk about whatever is on their mind. He doesn't judge and he won't go telling your business to other people. We confide in him and for you to come after me...if you wanted to talk to me, we had like two classes together today. You could have talked to me before and after class. I don't bite."

She walked away and left him standing there with Derek. Katrina didn't want to give anything away as to why she trusted Roman so much, and left before he ran her mouth to the point of no return for trying to defend something.

Before driving off in her brand new Range Rover, that she had gotten before the semester started, she texted Derek to let Roman know that she was going to get a few things for later on in the night.

_**Meanwhile...**_

"So Katrina's coming over later?" Asked Dean as they tried out that new restaurant the Derek and Katrina mentioned to them earlier in the week.

Roman nodded as he drank some of his soda. "I wanted to spend some time with her before I left for the weekend for the away games. It's been a rough week, so I'm hoping we could end the week on a good note."

After Roman got home, he took a quick shower and set some things up in the living room for when Katrina got there. He heard the doorbell ring and was surprised to know that she came a few minutes earlier than what he thought she would and greeted her with a kiss. Because he had already shown her around earlier in their relationship, she went straight to his bedroom to put her things down and didn't have a problem finding it.

Katrina came back downstairs in shorts and a white tank top, and barefoot. Roman smiled at her, like he always did whenever he saw her and let her sit in between his legs as he sat on the floor by the couch. He had a blanket that he covered her with and gave her a small plate with cheesecake on it with two forks for them to share. Kissing the tattoo on her shoulder, she snuggled closer to him and turned her head to kiss his cheek. After finishing their cheesecake, Roman went back to cuddling with Katrina before talking again.

"The reason I don't talk much about my feelings is because of what I've been through in the past." He told her softly as he rested his chin on her shoulder. "I always got called a big baby or a softie for talking about my feelings, so eventually I just stopped and I became the man who doesn't always show what he's feeling. The last time I talked about what I felt to a girl, I got hurt big time and so I got scared that it would happen to me again."

Katrina stayed quiet for a moment before responding. "You can always talk to me about anything. I won't judge you for it. I actually like when you do. It lets me see a different side to you that I don't always see."

They laced their fingers together and held hands while they ended up talking about random things and laughing at what others may consider the stupidest jokes. But Katrina and Roman didn't care. They loved the moments like this that they got to share without any interruptions or worrying about anything.

"Roman?" Asked Katrina after about two hours of talking, nonstop. It was about to be one in the morning and they were both still wide awake.

"Yeah?" He asked, giving her shoulder another kiss.

She thought for a moment, wondering how to form the words for what she wanted to say.

"Can you make love to me tonight?" She asked, softly. Looking up at Roman, he looked into her blue eyes and allowed her eyes to let him know that it was something that she wanted.

"Are you sure?" He asked, anyways. Roman wanted to be positive that she wouln't end up feeling forced into it.

Katrina nodded, gently squeezing his hands. Pulling her up, he grabbed her hand and took her upstairs after turning the lights off, downstairs. When they got to Roman's room, he closed the door behind them and took Katrina in his arms. He laid her down without breaking the kiss that they now shared. Feeling their legs getting tangled up with each others, Roman's tougne licked her lips, and Katrina quickly allowed entry. She moaned feeling his silky tounge against hers and felt Roman's hard on beginning to form underneath his pants.

"I don't want you to feel forced to do this." Roman whispered against her lips.

"I obviously want this, otherwise I wouldn't have asked you to make love to me." Replied Katrina. "How is that me being forced to be intimate with you?"

Roman stared at her and quickly thought of something to prevent it from going wrong. "I just wanted to make sure. And I don't have a condom, by the way."

Katrina blinked a few times before sitting up when she almost shoved Roman off of her. "Are you trying to make me say to just forget about it?"

"I just don't want to risk anything." Said Roman. "It's your first time and I don't want to risk having us getting pregnant."

"We weren't thinking about that all of those times when I was in your office in the locker room and we almost had sex, had it not been for something going on to stop us." Katrina told him after giving a sharp scoff. "So why are we all of a sudden thinking about condoms?"

He stayed quiet, not knowing what to say. He tried to de-escalate the situation and he couldn't find a way to do so.

"Are you still upset about the whole Josh situation?" Asked Katrina.

"This has nothing to do with Josh." He replied, but he knew that the feelings that he had towards that situation were definitely playing a part in what was going on. He wanted to tell the world that he's hers and not have to worry about any other guy, just like she wouldn't have to worry about him being with anyone else. He knew that if they were to be intimate, he wouldn't be able to keep them a secret from everybody at school much longer. Roman wasn't going to risk having her career get messed up before she even graduated.

"Then what the hell is with all of the questions?" She asked.

Seeing the look of embarrasement on Katrina's face as it turned a slight shade of red, he reached out to grab her hand, only to have her pull away before Roman could reach her hand. He saw as Katrina tried to fight back some tears as she fixed her hair before pulling the covers over her and laying with her back towards Roman.

She felt stupid for even considering being intimate with Roman tonight and it broke her heart. It's like that pain that you swear you could feel in your chest when you hear or see something that you don't want to. Right now, she felt like Roman didn't want her in an intimate way. Or at least as much as he made it out to be. Had any of those passionate moments that they shared over the last few weeks mean anything to Roman, because it sure meant a lot to Katrina.

_**The next day...**_

Katrina sat in the passenger seat of Roman's Tahoe as he drove to school to meet up with the team to get on their way to a college in Tallahassee for their first away game of the college football season. For the first time in his life, he would allow someone else to drive his car without him being around. She was quiet the entire time and didn't even make a sound throughout the entire ride. Not even when some of her favorite songs were playing on the radio. Roman knew that she was upset and for her to be this quiet, meant that she was livid.

They got to the school parking lot and turned the car off when Roman parked it. He opened the back to get his bags out and saw some of his players already there with the Assistant Coach walking up to them with his bags in hand.

"Katrina, I'm sorry about last night." He whispered to her as she stood next to him, not once allowing her face to be seen by the people already there in case there was somebody there that may have seen her around school.

"Sure." She whispered back. Katrina was hurting and he could see it on her face.

Roman sighed as he finished taking the last of his bags out of the trunk. "I really do want you in that way. I think about it all the time. But the things that may happen if we were to be intimate now...I don't want to risk anything."

"What are we going to risk?" She asked sharply. Her tounge oozed of poison and she was holding back from striking.

"You know how much more protective I'll be of you, Katrina?" Roman asked. "On top of that, I won't be able to keep my hands off of you. You think it's hard for me _now _to keep us a secret in and around school, imagine after we become intimate. The entire school will know about us, within a matter of hours. Possibly within minutes because of technology."

"That still doesn't change the fact that I wanted it." Katrina said softly.

He sighed and saw her step back before he even reached for her. "I don't know how to deal with keeping us a secret. I want us to be exclusive to everyone. But that would include everyone here at school as well. I think we should wait a little longer before becoming intimate. Maybe until you graduate."

"Next semester will be my last." Said Katrina, almost in a pleading voice. "But that means that my graduation won't be until May at the latest, Roman."

It broke his heart, because he knew that he would give in because his own will power wasn't strong enough to avoid Katrina's touch. He can't even avoid her for more than a few hours because he goes crazy when he does.

"Just go." Said Katrina, with a small whimper in her voice. "Go be with your team. Good luck in your games, and I genuinly hope that you win. Hopefully I'll be able to see at least one of your games this weekend."

She closed the trunk and tip-toed to kiss Roman's cheek. He wrapped an arm around her and hugged her tightly. It took a while, but Katrina eventually wrapped her arms around his neck.

"I love you." She whispered in his ear as tears fell from the corner of her eyes.

"I love you, too."

Pulling back, he looked at her and allowed his eyes to linger on her strong blue eyes as he stroked her cheek. Leaning in to his hand, she closed her eyes and felt even more tears fall before pulling away.

"I'll see you when you get home. Be safe." Katrina told him and walked away. He heard the door close and the engine turn on as he walked away. When he got to the rest of the team, he looked back to see Katrina carefully backing out of the parking. She honked the horn when she saw him with his team and drove off.

**A/N: Do you think that Roman has a point as to why he decided to not be intimate with Katrina? Is he right in how he's handling the situation or could he have done so differently? **


	8. Chapter 8

**Thank you to DeeMarie426 and justkimmy for reviewing :) **

Roman and his team came home from their away games with wins from both games under their belt and now having an undefeated streak of 5-0 since the season started. They all went to a restaurant after getting home at eight on the dot to celebrate but the only thing on Roman's mind was Katrina. Even though they talked a bit over the weekend, Katrina barely talked much. He knew that she was still a bit upset about what had happened before he left and she had a reason to be.

"Everyone, before we order, can I please have your attention?" Asked Roman. The group quieted down and looked at their Coach who was sitting in the middle of the table with the assistant coach. "After we leave the restaurant, the bus will be taking us back to campus. From their you go home. If you know your car isn't in the school parking lot and you need somebody to go pick you up, please let them know now. If you live on campus, you know the rule for this team: 'Never walk alone'. I know that you're all adults and you can take care of yourselves, but never go back alone. On a more positive note, congratulations to each and every single one of you guys. That was a great perfomance that we put on for these two games and the undefeated streak continues. We're proud of you, keep up the good work."

The team applauded and got on their phones to take pictures and to make some calls. Roman checked his phone and sent Katrina a text before putting his phone down and giving the waitress his order. His phone vibrated when she left and he picked it up to see a message from Katrina.

_Roman: We're grabbing a bite to eat before the bus takes us back to campus. We'll go home from there. _

_Katrina: Congratulations again on your win. I'm proud of you :) _

He smiled at the text before responding again. They kept the conversation going throughout the night, though Roman noticed that she still wasn't as talkative as she was before Thursday night.

Getting back to campus, later on that night, he saw Dean there waiting to pick up his best friend. They greeted each other and Roman put his things in the back of Dean's car and got in the passanger seat. After talking a bit about their days, the car grew silent before Dean started to talk again.

"How have you and Katrina been since the day you told me about what happened?" He asked his friend.

Roman sighed and shrugged. "I don't know. Katrina hasn't really been the talking type since. I know I hurt her by what I did, but was it right, the way I went about thinking and acting that night?"

Dean thought for a moment. "It's understandable why, I can't argue with that. Was it the right way to go about it...I don't know. I've never been in that situation before so I'm not sure what to tell you. The question I have is, are the consequences from how you went about dealing with it make it worth it?"

"What do you mean?" Asked Roman, confused.

"Will it negatively affect your relationship with Katrina?" Asked Dean in response. "Of course, there's a possibility that Katrina may have felt rejected and as if you don't intamitely want her, no matter how often you insist that you do. Which, now thinking about it, even though I understand why, it may not have been the best way to deal with it."

Roman closed his eyes and mentally cursed himself out, at the thought of her feeling rejected. "It's just that, I know that I'm going to be unable to keep my hands off of her and we don't know what will happen if the wrong person in school finds out."

He groaned and leaned his head back against the head rest before looking out the window again. "Why did I have to be so stupid?"

"There's no rule that says that you can't date Katrina." Dean added. "She's twenty-two years old, so by law, she's an adult and she can make her own decisions. Besides, seeing the way you look at her, I can tell that you want her just as badly as she wants you. You can't rely on the gym and football practice for every single time that you're sexually frustrated, Roman. Eventually you're going to give in. You're a guy. Seriously?"

Roman thought for a moment and wondered about what he could do. "How's my place, you did check it, right?

"It's fine. I put the key back where it belongs and everything is in it's place." Replied Dean when he stopped at a red light. "What are you thinking?"

He stayed quiet for a moment. "Can you take me to Katrina's?"

Dean smiled and nodded. "Off to Katrina's we go."

_**Fifteen minutes later...**_

They now found themselves taking Roman's bags out of Dean's car. Instead of parking the car, Dean got back in and got ready to go back home.

"You two need some privacy." Said Dean. "The two of you need to have a conversation and nobody else needs to be around and influence anything tonight. You're in enough deep shit with her. Go fix it. Have a good night."

Dean smiled and drove away, leaving Roman with his bags. He let our a deep breath and walked until he reached Katrina's condo. Knocking softly, it took a moment before someone opened the door.

When Katrina saw Roman standing on the other side of her door, she couldn't help but smile. He stood there with a sweater, two bags and his hair in a mess. Stepping aside, she let him in and closed the door behind him.

After getting settled down, he sat next to her on her bed and they both sat in silence for a few minutes. "I was wrong for how I handled the situation the other night. I shouldn't have done what I did."

Katrina stayed silent for a while before responding. "I understand why, but it hurt. It feels like you don't want me, the same way I do you."

She whispered out the last sentence and Roman's heart broke. "I _do _want you, baby. I'm just so scared of messing up everything between us. Please don't lea ve me."

Katrina looked at him curiously. "Roman, why would I leave you?"

He looked up at her and kissed her head. "Because in my last relationship, she always threatened to leave me whenever I did something wrong."

Katrina saw the vulnerability in his eyes and in the way he said it. "Baby, I'm not going to leave you. I love you and I'm not just going to give up on you like that."

Roman smiled and nudged at her nose. "I love you."

"That doesn't mean you're off the hook just yet." She told him and he chuckled knowing that it was true.

_**Later that week...**_

Katrina walked into the classroom that her and Derek always had lunch in when they hung out with Roman. She closed the door behind her and was met with a surprise soft and sweet kiss by Roman who rested his hands on her waist. She smiled when he pulled back and she pecked his lips before greeting Derek.

"I have some news." Said Katrina a few minutes after they began eating their pizza. "My dad and my grandparents invited me over, last minute for dinner tonight. I think my sister may be there too, if she's able to make it. They're going to ask, especially my dad, if I'm dating anybody. So I think that this would be a good time to tell them."

They all stayed silent as Derek looked back and forth in between Katrina and Roman. She sat there, eating her pizza and wondering what Roman was thinking about it.

"We're eventually have to tell our families that we're a couple." Said Roman, finally. "My concern is, what are we going to tell them when they ask how we met and whatnot and how are they going to react when they find out that you're still a student? My parents won't mind when it comes to the age difference, but they will be concerned about the whole student and me being a professor thing."

Katrina sighed and pouted slightly. "It's a long time between now and graduation to wait until then."

"I know. We should tell them today." Replied Roman. "You could tell your dad and your grandparents during dinner and I'll tell my parents when I facetime them tonight. Deal?"

She nodded and kissed his cheek. "But what are we going to tell them about how we met? My dad doesn't know about me dancing again."

They all thought for a moment before Derek spoke up. "Why not just tell them that the two of you met here in school? You have to tell them the same story."

"I'll just tell them that." Said Katrina. "Who knows what my dad is gonna say if he finds out that I'm dancing again."

After they all finished eating, Katrina sat in Roman's lap and found happiness from being cuddled up in his arms. Leaning against him when he sat back in his chair, she kissed his chin and her lips were met with his when he leaned his head down.

_**Later that night...**_

Katrina walked into her grandparents' home and smiled widely as she greeted them as well as her dad and her older sister, Anna. Katrina and her sister looked almost exactly alike and were sometimes confused for sisters even though they were two years apart and had their physical differences.

As they all sat down for dinner, Katrina realized just how much she had missed them all. With being so busy with school, she had found it hard to make time to do some things and then with Roman taking a lot of her attention, it was harder. Katrina found herself smiling at the thought of Roman and cleared her throat to get some attention away from her.

"I have something to tell everyone." She announced once dinner was over and they ate desert. They all quieted down and turned their attention to Katrina, making her nervous. She got her thoughts together, knowing that she just wanted to get everything over with. "I have a boyfriend."

Her dad's blue eyes looked at hers as he cocked his head to the side. "A guy that you're friends with or a guy that you're dating?"

"A guy that I'm dating." Katrina replied.

"That's nice, sweetheart." Said my grandmother as she and my grandfather gave me a smile. "How did you two meet?"

Katrina's heart began to pump a little faster when she was asked how they met. "We met at school, over the summer. I was helping out in the library and when I was done for the day, I went to walk around before leaving and we met."

"What's his major?" Asked my dad. "Is he in the undergraduate program or in the same program as you?"

"Um..." Her stomach was in knots and she wrapped her fingers around each other, to keep them from shaking. "That's the thing, he's not a student. He's an English professor and the football coach."

Her dad looked at her, with the most serious face that she had ever seen on him as her grandparents looked at them, though they didn't seem as surprised as her sister and her dad.

"Katrina, what the hell are you doing dating a professor?" He asked. "How is it even possible that you two can be a couple without anything bad happening?"

He had been a teacher since before she was born, so Katrina knew that her father knew of the possible consequences that could take place for a teacher dating a student.

"He's not my professor though dad." She replied. "And he'll never be. The only classes that he gets is the undergraduate classes and the students who are taking their Masters. I'll never be his student."

"That doesn't change the fact that he's still a professor, Katrina." Her dad told her. "You don't know what kind of trouble you'll get into if it gets to the wrong person and you haven't even graduated yet."

"But nobody in school knows that him and I are together." Katrina protested. "We're really careful about who we act like a couple around."

Her father scoffed and excused himself from the table but turned around before he completely walked away. "How is this guy, by the way?"

Katrina stayed quiet before answering. "He's twenty-nine."

"He's seven years older than you, too?" He asked her. "What other surprised do you have left to tell me about this? Have you had sex with him?"

"Gosh dad, no!" She exclaimed. "We haven't had sex."

"I don't want you seeing that guy anymore. Do you understand me, Katrina?" He asked.

She let out a breath that she didn't know that she was holding. "Dad, I'm twenty-two years old. I can date whomever I want without your say. I'm not a child!"

"But I'm still your father!" He exclaimed.

"That's enough!" exclaimed my Grandfather. That was the first time that Katrina had ever heard him raise his voice to anyone or anything. "That is enough, you two. James, you should know better than to criticize her over this. Remember that you and her mother were in the same position as well and we weren't too crazy about it either."

Katrina and Anna looked at each other before looking back at them. "What are you talking about?" Asked Anna.

Their dad looked at his two daughters and saw the anger in his youngest. "Nothing. It's nothing."

Katrina helped clean up the table and grabbed her things to go. Her grandmother stopped her from leaving when she saw her granddaughter with tears in her eyes.

"Grandma, I'm so sorry about tonight." Katrina told her apologetically, in between sobs. "I didn't mean to cause any problems. I just thought it was the right thing to do in telling you, instead of keeping it a secret until I finished school."

They all hugged her, except for her father, who was in the backyard and still fuming about the admission that she had made to them earlier.

"It's okay, Sweetie." Said her grandfather. "You did what you thought was right."

"If it makes you feel any better, I think it's cool that we get to go on double dates now." Said her sister. "If you'd like, I mean."

Katrina smiled at her sister and calmed down a bit, but continued to cry. "I know it seems wrong to be in a reltionship with him, but when I'm with him it just feels so right."

"And you're in love." Whispered her grandmother with a smile.

She nodded. "I love him very much. I know it's hard to keep it a secret in and around school, but I want to be with him. He makes me very happy. What did you mean though when you said that he and mom were in the same position?"

"When the time comes, we'll tell you the story." Said her grandfather. "Until then, don't give up on this relationship. You'll be glad that you didn't."

_**Meanwhile...**_

"How old is she?" Asked Roman's father.

"She's twenty-two." He replied. "But she's already in her final year for her PhD. She's unbelieably smart."

Roman's parents stayed quiet for a moment before responding. "Be careful, Roman." Said his mother. "We don't want you to go through the same thing that you went through with Janelle. She's very young and you're still a professor."

He nodded. "I know, mom. I promise, everything's going to be okay."

They talked for a while longer before he took a shower and watched television. He heard a soft knock on the door and turned the volume down a bit to go answer it. Roman smiled when he saw Katrina but it quickly faded when he noticed that it looked as though she had been crying. Closing the door behind her, he took Katrina into his arms and soothed her while she calmed down and sniffled.

"My dad made a big deal out of it." She finally told him, not letting go of the grip that she had on his shirt. "He got upset and it's like he didn't care to listen to anything else I had to say."

Roman kissed the top of her head and continued to hold her, even after she stopped crying. "What do your grandparents and sister think?"

"They're worried we may get in trouble if it gets out in school." Katrina replied. "But other than that, they had nothing negative to say. They do want to meet you though and they wanted to know if you could come over for dinner on Sunday. I doubt my dad will be there."

He thought for a moment. "I'll go to dinner with them, I don't mind. We have a game that day with Jacksonville but it starts at noon."

Roman took Katrina's things and took it upstairs to his room. She went to take a shower and came back out about forty-five minutes later. Sitting next to him on the couch, Katrina ended up cuddling up to him as they watched television together.

"I don't remember if I told you, but we have a game on Friday with Alabama and another game on Saturday with South Carolina. We'll have to leave tomorrow, right after the team's last class. Are you gonna be okay while I'm gone?"

Katrina nodded. "I'll be okay. I'll hang out with Derek and pamper myself."

Roman smiled and cupped her chin so that she could look up at him. "When I come back, I'm going to make love to you. I promise."

She looked up at him, in wonder. "How do I know you won't do the same thing that you did the last time? Besides, you said that you'll be more protective and that you wouldn't be able to keep your hands off of me if we do."

"I can't help the whole being protective of you part of it." Roman replied. "I'm protective of you _now. _But I'll try to control my urges and I'll try to keep my hands to myself. But to answer your question, I keep my promise."

Katrina looked down and smiled before looking back up at him. "We'll see. Just come back home to me first."

Roman nodded and leaned his head down to kiss her. "I love you."

"I love you, too." She responded and shared another kiss with him.

**A/N: What do you think Katrina's father is hiding from her and her sister? **


	9. Chapter 9

**Thank you to Neisha03Ty, Slytherin Studios, justkimmy, and DeeMarie426 for reviewing :) **

"I know everybody is exhausted after the last three games." Said Roman after their win today over a school in Jacksonville. "But I just wanted to say good job everyone. We're all really proud of you guys. Our next game is on Friday and it's against one of the best football teams in Miami. Let's show them while we're still undefeated and why we're going to be champions when this season is over. They're going to be here in our home turf, so let's do this, alright?"

The guys clapped and made their way to the showers before leaving. Roman got a text from Katrina, reminding him of tonight and to congratulate him on his win. Once everybody was gone from the locker room, Roman went straight home to get ready after going to the barber shop to get a quick haircut.

Almost an hour later, he was knocking on Katrina's door to pick her up. When she answered, she jumped in his arms and embraced in a hug. Katrina dug her face into his neck and continued to hold on to Roman tightly. Pulling back, they shared a kiss and she melted in his arms.

"I've missed you so much." She whispered to him. "I wanted you to stay with me this weekend."

"I couldn't stop thinking about you all weekend." Said Roman as his lips brushed against her ear. Katrina smiled happily as she felt his warm breath and sweet whispers in her ear. "I think that's why we won all three games. You may be my good luck charm."

She giggled and bit her lip. "I would happily accept the role."

They forced themselves to stop with all of the kissing and hugging and held hands as they made their way to Katrina's grandparents house for dinner. When Roman turned off the car after parking in the driveway, he wouldn't let go of Katrina's hand.

"You okay?" She asked when she looked over at him.

Roman nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. I just want them to like me. I don't want the only thing that they talk or think about when it comes to us to be the whole Professor and Student thing."

Katrina understood his feeling on the situation. "I'll be right there with you."

He looked at their hands, as their fingers were intertwined with each other and stroked her hand with his thumb. Leaning over, Katrina met him half way so that their lips could meet for another kiss. This time, it was soft and sweet.

Getting out of the car, they held hands on their way to the door and knocked. Anna answered the door and smiled as she and her sister hugged. She greeted Roman and looked at Katrina in surprise as to how good he looked. Roman had on a plain, black shirt with blue jeans and sneakers. His long, raven black hair was slicked back into a neat and small bun. He had shaved and gotten a haircut and had on Katrina's favorite colonge.

"Hi Grandma, hey grandpa." Said Katrina as she walked up to them and gave them both a hug.

Roman walked up to them and shook their hands. "My name's Roman. It's nice to meet you."

They smiled at his manners and took him into the kitchen to talk to him. He turned around without them noticing to much and gave Katrina a wink with a smile, making her grow warm. She then turned her attention to her sister who sat on the couch and they began a conversation.

"Do you know if Dad is coming?" Asked Katrina.

Anna shook her head and shrugged. "I have no idea. But I think that it's best if he doesn't. At least tonight, I mean. I don't want no drama tonight and knowing the two of you, there will be plenty of that."

After they washed up for dinner, they sat down and watched Roman help out their grandparents with placing dinner on the table. Roman kissed Katrina's cheek when he sat down next to her and placed his hand on her leg. Katrina began to feel warm again and smiled along with everyone else as she tried to get her mind to go elsewhere.

"How do you deal with you two being in a relationship while you're at school?" Asked Grandpa, turning his attention to Roman.

Roman thought for a moment as he took a bite of his pork chops. "It's difficult, and I've expressed that to Katrina. I'm the kind of guy that like to show off his girlfriend to everybody and show that he's proud to have her by his side. I want to show people that I'm hers and with me being protective of her, I would go up against any guy that does her wrong. And in school, I don't have the privilage of being able to do that for fear of what may happen. How do I deal with it...luckily I have Katrina to help me through it and I think about how if you truly want something, or in this case someone, you'll do what you have to so that you make sure you have it."

They continued to talk during dinner and Katrina's grandparents couldn't help but smile, every time Roman would steal a glance from her and the look in their eyes when they looked at each other. After desert, they all sat in the living room and watched Anna and Katrina complete a puzzle with some help from Roman. He smiled seeing how close the sisters were with each other, even though they were two years apart.

"Roman, can you come with me?" Asked Katrina's grandfather as he got up from his chair.

Katrina looked up at him and watched Roman stand up and follow the man outside to the porch. She pouted and poked Anna when her sister started it. They felt like little kids again for a few minutes until their grandmother told them to calm down.

Meanwhile, Roman stood outside with one of the most important guys in her life, waiting for him to talk.

"You love my granddaughter, don't you?" He asked softly.

Roman nodded and smiled. "I'm in love with her and I'm crazy about her."

The man smiled. He may have been tall and muscular, but he was gentle and reserved. "The way you look at her and the way that you interact with her...I haven't seen a guy do that in years, let alone with her."

"I can't see myself without her." Said Roman softly. "With her, everything just comes so naturally and time flies by. I can be myself with her and not worry about being judged or thought of differently and I like that. I haven't had the best luck in past relationships and with her, I feel like the luckiest guy in the world."

He looked at Roman and saw that he was being honest with every word that he said. The sound of his voice with those words, were true and genuine.

"Take care of Katrina." He told Roman. "She may be an adult, but she's still my granddaughter and I'll do anything I can to protect her."

Roman nodded, understanding the situation and continued to talk to him for a while longer before they decided to go back in. Katrina smiled when she saw them come back and pecked Roman's lips when he bent down to meet hers.

When they left about half an hour later, Katrina and Roman were happy with how the night went. Katrina was happy that her dad wasn't there, because of the possible argument that may have happened had him and Roman been in the same room together at the same time, but a bit sad too because it could have been a chance for her dad to see at least a part of why she loved Roman so much.

Parking the car in front of Katrina's condo, Roman didn't let go of her hand. "I was wondering..."

It caught Katrina's attention when he paused, as if thinking about how to say what he wanted to get out.

"Before I left, I promised that I would make love to you when I came back." Said Roman. "And I was wondering if I could get the opportunity tonight to show you that I can keep my promise to you."

Katrina smiled and felt butterflies in her stomach when she saw desire in his eyes when he looked at her. "How do I know you won't do the same thing as last time?"

"Because this time around, I won't make the mistake of coming up with any excuse that I can find to avoid it." He replied. "I was stupid and I need to make to make it up to you."

She got out of the car and signaled for Roman to follow her inside. He grabbed a bag from the backseat with some clothes in case he stayed the entire night and followed her into her condo. After settling down, Roman took Katrina into his arms for a kiss that quickly became passionate. It was full of lust and desire as it went on and Katrina quickly allowed Roman's tounge to gain entry into her mouth.

Grabbing a hold of his shirt, Katrina took it off and let it fall to the floor. Kissing his large chest, she felt Roman grab for her blue shirt and allowed him to undress her, revealing the black lace bra and panties that she was wearing. Slightly blushing, Katrina's fingers played with the belt hoops of Roman's pants as they shared another kiss, eventually unbuttoning them and getting them off revealing his boxers.

Taking off the rubber band that held his hair together, Roman stood behind her and traced the tattoo on her spine with his lips, making sure that his hands caressed her body. Hearing her softly moan, his fingers reached her bra and unhooked it. She allowed it to slide off and hit the floor before feeling Roman pick her up when he stood in front of her again and lay her down in the middle of the bed.

Roman gave her soft kisses on the lips before kissing down to her neck. Making his way to her breasts, he continued to caress her body with his large hands and closed her eyes in pleasure. Katrina moaned when he took a nipple into his mouth and had his silky tounge swirl around it before he gently suckled on it. He felt the warmth that was coming from her center, causing an erection to begin forming as he laid in between her legs. Kissing his way down to her stomach, he took off the black lace panties that she had on and put it on the floor with the rest of the clothes.

He placed kisses on her thighs before reaching her center. Katrina moaned in pleasure as his tounge began to pleasure her. She tasted sweet and couldn't help but want more as he continued on.

"Roman..." Moaned Katrina, not wanting him to stop as she leaned her head back into the pillow. A few minutes later, she reached an orgasm and felt her body shake as she did. Roman's erection was becoming painful when he noticed that it threatned to poke out of his boxers.

Katrina noticed the buldge and took it off, revealing the long and thick erection. Roman hissed sharply and groaned when he felt her hands on his erection and covered her mouth with his as she began to play with the tip.

"I have a condom if you want me to use it." He whispered huskily against her lips. Katrina nodded and watched as he leaned over and searched his bag until he found a condom that he could use. He quickly and easily slipped it on, before getting back in between her legs.

Roman slowly entered her wet and tight passage and groaned, holding back from almost releasing. After she had adjusted, he began to gently thrust into her, being careful to not hurt her. But after a while, she found herself digging her manicured nails into his back, wanting more. Katrina leaned up slightly and peppered kisses on his neck and chest, before he did the same to her.

Heat rose between their bodies as they moved together as one. Roman grabbed her hands and laced their fingers together as he continued to thrust into her. Katrina became slightly frustrated at not being able to touch him and heard Roman give a low chuckle near her ear when he noticed before nibbling on her ear.

The thrusts soon became passionate as a climax neared for the both of them. It wasn't long until Katrina found her release and held Roman close to her body before Roman found his after a few more thrusts. Laying together, with their bodies pressed together, they both tried to catch their breaths as Roman's faced was digged into Katrina's neck.

Roman slowly pulled out of her and took off the condom, throwing it away in the bathroom. When he came back into the room, he laid down next to Katrina and took her in his arms, lightly tracing the tattoo on her spine.

"We're not done yet, just so you know." He said when she looked up at him to give him a kiss.

Katrina smiled and found herself growing warm again. "You're my first, you know that?"

Roman nodded as he looked into her blue eyes. "I want to be your last." He whispered as he nudged her nose with his. They shared a kiss and went into another passionate filled round.

_**The next day...**_

Roman woke up with Katrina fast asleep in his arms, with her head on his chest and covered with the blankets. They had only gotten about one hour of sleep after making love all night and Roman just wanted to stay in bed all day if he could. Looking at the time, he began to try to wake up Katrina.

"Baby." He whispered as he kissed her forehead. Katrina stirred but stayed asleep. Roman smiled and played with her hair as he watched her sleep peacefully. When she started to wake up a few minutes later, she greeted him with a sleepy smile and Roman couldn't help but give her a kiss.

When they got ready, they made their way to school in Roman's Tahoe. Luckily the windows were tinted enough to where others couldn't easily tell who was inside the car from the outside unless they looked closely enough.

"I'll see you at lunch." Said Roman as leaned over to give Katrina a quick peck on the lips. He had stopped in front of the building that she had her classes in today before finding a parking for the car. "Have a good day, I love you."

"I love you, too." Katrina said with a smile, as she opened the door after making sure that nobody that they knew was around and gave him another kiss. "Have a good day."

Making her way into the building, she bumped into Josh who was talking to a few people. He noticed her and began walking her way as Katrina tried to fix her hair to hide the mark that Roman left near the back of her ear.

"Hey, I didn't see your car." Said Josh after greeting her.

Katrina smiled. "Yeah, I came with one of my friends."

Josh saw that she wanted to go somewhere when she checked the time on her phone, and mentally cursed at himself. "Do you like me? I feel like I may be forcing you to feel something for me that may not be there."

She turned around to face him. "You're a really nice guy. But I only like you as a friend, I'm sorry."

He gave Katrina a small smile. "I understand. I know you probably wonder why all of a sudden it seems as if I care more than what I usually did about us. I find you attractive. You're smart and pretty."

"Thank you, but I have wondered that." Replied Kate. "You're pretty smart yourself. I'm just not interested. I'm so focused on school and trying to graduate, that I don't really pay much attention to guys around here in that way as much as I probably should."

"Do you like someone else?" Asked Josh.

Katrina thought for a moment before responding. "Yeah, I like someone else. He doesn't go to this school though."

She hoped that he wouldn't ask much about this mysterious guy that she liked, to avoid anything being said or done that could hint at the guy being Roman.

"I'm sure there's someone out there for you though, Josh." She added. "It may not be me, but I'm sure that there's somebody for you."

They talked for a few more moments before Katrina went off to the bathroom to fix herself up. She looked in the mirror and saw that she was still wearing one of Roman's sweaters. Luckily nobody has bothered to notice, or care enough to ask about it. She smiled, taking in his scent when she smelled the sweater.

Feeling her phone vibrate, Katrina checked it to see that it was a message from her dad. It read:

_Dad: I would like to meet this guy you're dating. I'll be at our favorite restaurant tonight. Meet me at eight. _

Katrina groaned, not wanting to face her dad today, especially with Roman, knowing how it all ended when she told her dad about dating him. She texted Roman and got a response from him right away.

_Roman: I'll finish practice up a little earlier today since the assistant coach won't be able to make it today. It'll give me more time to get ready. _

_Katrina: I thought you didn't need that much time to get ready lol. _

_Roman: You're funny. You know what I mean lol _

_Katrina: :)_

The day went by faster than what Katrina had wanted to, but what helped was that she couldn't keep her mind off of Roman and the moments that they shared well into the early hours of the morning. Finiding Roman before he went to practice, she asked if she could have the keys to his car so that she could take a quick nap in the backseat.

"I want a nap." Pouted Roman as he handed her the keys.

She smiled at the face he made and kissed him when there wasn't anybody around. "You can take a nap with me later tonight."

Roman's face lit up as he nodded. "That sounds like a good idea."

Katrina giggled as his mouth covered hers for a kiss. "I love you."

"I love you too, baby." He said as she began to walk away.

_**A few hours later...**_

"Roman, we're going to be late." Said Katrina in between kisses as they tried to end their makeout session that eventually ended up in them back in her bed for a little over an hour. They took a quick shower and got dressed.

He squeezed her bottom as she wrapped her legs around his waist, feeling a hard on beginning to form in his pants. Roman growled and put her down gently as he tried to fix his pants. They held hands after getting themselves together and made their way to his car. Katrina fidgeted the entire way there and saw that her dad was getting to the restaurant just as they were. After parking the car, Roman kissed her cheek and tried to calm her nerves.

"I've never had a guy meet my dad before." Katrina said softly. "And with how he reacted when I told him about us, I'm nervous about how he'll react tonight."

"Let's just take it one step at a time okay?" He asked as he stroked the back of her hand with his thumb.

She nodded and got out of the car when he kissed her cheek again. Katrina greeted her dad and watched to see what the reaction would be between Roman and her dad. They just shook hands and introduced themselves and became surrounded by silence as they made their way into the restaurant and ordered a few minutes later.

"What made you want to become a professor and a football coach?" Asked Katrina's father as they waited for their food.

"Well, I went to college to play football in hopes of making it to the pros." Said Roman. "But I also wanted to be a teacher, because I genuinly enjoy being one. I can't explain it, but it's something that I love so I decided to take it up in college in case football didn't work out. Obviously it didn't, so I stuck to being a teacher and found that the closest I could be to football, is by being a coach."

Her dad looked at Katrina and Roman as she sat quietly next to Roman, while he protected her a bit without making it obvious to everyone that of how protective he could be.

"Did you know that Katrina is still a student before you began dating her?" He asked Roman.

"Dad." Katrina said in a slight groan, wanting to avoid this conversation tonight.

Roman shook his head. "It's alright, I'll answer it. I didn't know that she was a student until we introduced ourselves to each other. So yes, I did know before we started dating."

"And that didn't stop you from being with my daughter?"

The waiter bought us all of our food and we thanked him before he left to tend to other customers.

"I'm sorry, Sir." Said Roman. "But we can't control what we feel for other people."

They sat in silence for what seemed like eternity before any one of them spoke again. "If you like her so much then why didn't you wait until she graduated before asking her out? I mean, I personally believe that it would be a good idea for the two of you to stop seeing each other. When she graduates, if your feelings for each other are still there, then by all means, go ahead and continue your relationship."

Roman looked up at Katrina's dad and took a sip of his soda. "With all due respect, Sir, but Katrina and I aren't going to stop seeing each other. I don't even understand why we have to."

"If my daughter gets into trouble before her career even starts because she's with you, I'm definitely going to put the blame on you young man." Said her father. "Katrina has a bright future ahead of her. Hell, she's already accomplished so many things in her life and she will excel when she reaches her goal of being a psychologist. Face it, Roman. As long as she's a student there, the two of you have to keep each other a secret at school to avoid trouble."

Roman stayed quiet for a while, eating his food. Katrina knew that he was biting his tounge to not say anything because of how he could sometimes anger quickly. Katrina tried to lighten up the mood on several occassions but to no avail. It wasn't until they finished eating their food, that Roman spoke again.

"With all due respect, Sir...I'm not going to stop seeing Katrina." Said Roman. "Even if that means that we have to continue keeping our relationship a secret in school so that she doesn't get into trouble, then so be it. But I'm in love with your daughter and I made a promise to myself and to her that I wasn't going to give up on our relationship, no matter how hard it got. I was raised to not give up on what I want and I was raised to go after what I want. I want to be with Katrina and I'm not going to allow somebody to talk me out of being with her for their own personal reasons and I'll be damned if I do. You have a problem with me, fine. But I'm not going to leave her because of it."

"Is that so?" He asked Roman. Katrina saw a change occur in her father's eyes, but she couldn't tell what is was.

"Dad, do _not _punish _me _because we're in a relationship." She told her dad.

He looked at his daughter before responding. "Why would the two of you taking a break be punishing you?"

"Because it wouldn't be genuine." Said Katrina. "It'll be for you not wanting us to be together in general. I'm not going to stop seeing him, dad. I'll fight for him too. I'm not going to be unhappy because of someone else."

They sat there in silence once more until they asked for the bill and payed for it. As they walked out, Roman's large hand held Katrina's as they intertwined their fingers together. Katrina looked at her dad and knew that he noticed, but didn't care. Roman was who she wanted to be with and she was content being with him, no matter what her father said about their relationship.

**A/N: Their standing up to Katrina's father and fighting for the relationship. Will it benefit them or not? **

**BTW...Anyone else noticed Dean Ambrose's new ring gear and entrance song? I think they should change it up a bit for Roman Reigns and give him something fresh to go along with the fact that The Shield are not together and Roman and Dean are going their seperate ways. What do you all think? **


	10. Chapter 10

**Thank you to Neisha03Ty, Slytherin Studios, Alexandria M, justkimmy and DeeMarie426 for reviewing :) **

It's been a few weeks since the dinner with Katrina, Roman and her father. It was now going to be Christmas and Roman was going to go to Pensacola to see his family for the holidays. Katrina met his family for Thanksgiving and they took the news of her and Roman being together better than they had expected.

Their relationship has improved a lot since the dinner with Katrina's father and it couldn't be going any better. The only thing that had Katrina upset was the fact that her dad was still unwilling to accept their relationship.

"When are you coming back home?" Asked Katrina as she had her arms wrapped around Roman's neck. It was early in the morning, but she knew that because he was going to drive to Pensacola, he would get an early start.

"I'll be home right after New Year's." He replied, giving her a soft kiss. "It's the longest that we've been away from each other, but when I get back home, I'm making love to you all night."

Katrina blushed and smiled. "Just like the last few days?"

Roman smiled and nodded. "I'm gonna be without you for a while, so expect me to try to have a little bit more energy for that when I come back."

She laughed softly and playfully hit his chest. "I love you, Roman."

"I love you, too Beautiful." He responded before covering her mouth with his for a full, but long and sweet kiss. "I'll talk to you tonight, okay?"

Katrina nodded and pecked his lips before we got into his black Tahoe. She stayed there until he drove off and she could no longer see his car in the distance. She pouted, knowing that she would begin to miss him dearly before the day even ends. But she tried to keep her mind on more positive things, like the fact that she had just finished another semester with a 4.0 gpa and that within a matter of a few months, she would be graduating with her PhD in Psychology, something that Katrina has worked so hard for over the last few years.

She decided to take this extra time that she had to be with her family and friends before having to buckle down for the next and final semester. Katrina called her sister to see if they could spend the day together and she agreed. Katrina and Anna have always been close, even when they were little. They did everything together, and even when they got into college and became busy with their own things, they still found a way to spend some time together, even if it was just once a week.

_**An hour later….**_

Anna had arrived to Katrina's condo a few minutes earlier, and they talked for a bit before going out to get their hair done.

"Has Dad said anything else about how he feels towards you and Roman being together?" Asked Anna as they sat next to each other in the hair salon.

Katrina shook her head. "No, not really. I mean, I understand his concern about us being together and whatnot, but for him to ask for us to just leave each other because of it is something that I don't agree with. I can't just drop my feelings for Roman and act like nothing ever happened between the two of us and still be able to concentrate in school. What I like is that Roman actually fought for us in a way, by standing up to him. What guy do you know that we've ever liked has ever stood up to our dad?"

Anna thought for a moment and nodded. "True. And it's more than just like. You _love _this guy and he loves you. Just be careful to not get into any trouble at school, okay?"

_**Hours later...**_

Roman had just gotten to his parents house and grinned as he greeted his mother, after walking in through the door, followed by his dad. His cousins, Jimmy and Jey were already there and he greeted them as well. He hasn't seen a lot of his family in a while and was happy to be back home for Christmas to spend some time with them before the new semester started.

"Your girl didn't come?" Asked Jey as they all went to the kitchen to help out Roman's mother for dinner.

"She couldn't come." He replied. "Katrina's gonna be with her family this Christmas."

Roman kissed his mother's cheek before helping her with some of the chicken. "I really like that girl. She's good for you."

Once the food was close to being done, Jimmy and Jey pulled Roman aside to talk to him.

"We should let you know something." Said Jimmy as they looked around. " Nobody else knows this, but we thought that this would be something that you would need to know, whether Katrina came or not."

Roman looked at them both before Jey added on to the conversation. "Janelle is here in Pensacola, visiting her family for the holidays. Seth is with her and they're here with the baby. Well, he's not a baby anymore but you know what I mean. We don't know if she knows that you're going to be around as well or not. But either way, be careful if you come around her."

"I didn't even think about her possibly being here." Said Roman. "Her and Katrina only met once and that was weeks before Katrina and I began dating. I honestly forgot all about Janelle."

"Damn, Katrina must be doing a hell of a good job with this girlfriend thing if you already forgot about your ex." Said Jimmy sending all three of them into laughter.

Roman shook his head. "She is, but reagardless of whether I remember about Janelle or not, Katrina's amazing though and I love her. I'd go crazy without her. I already miss her and the day isn't even over yet. I'm doing things with Katrina differently than what I did with Janelle. I look at Katrina differently, I love her a little more than what I did Janelle and I actually see myself with her in the long term."

_**The next day...**_

Roman went out to lunch with his parents and they were having a conversation about things that were important to all three of them when he saw Janelle walk in with her parents. Seth was by her side as well as their child, holding his hand. They saw Roman and gave him a small smile before continuing with Janelle's parents to a table behind them.

After they ordered, Janelle got up and walked over to where Roman and his parents were sitting. He cleared his throat when it began to feel awkward after she greeted them and asked how they were all doing.

"Can I talk to you for a bit?" She asked, looking at Roman. Instead of answering, he just excused himself from the table and got up to follow her outside.

"I'm glad to see that you're doing fine." Roman said when she faced him in the parking lot.

She stood silent for a few minutes before answering. "I wanted to say that after seeing you that day a few months ago, I realized that I didn't take the time that I needed to properly get over you."

"You cheated on me, got pregnant by the guy you cheated on me with, and you needed time to get over me?" Asked Roman in a sarcastic tone. "It's hard to believe, Janelle."

"Seeing you with that girl, even though it's nothing more than a friendship, made me realize that I still had feelings for you." Said Janelle. "I know I put you through hell when we were together, especially during and after my pregnancy, but my feelings for you were real. I was wondering what you felt for me. I need some closure before I completely move on."

Roman scoffed and looked around as his feet moved him back and forth. "I did love you when we were together and it took me a while to get over you, Janelle. But that's the thing, I got over you and I moved on. I have a girlfriend now."

Janelle's eyes lost that last bit of hope that she had left and her tried to pick up the pieces of her heart that was now completely breaking. "Is it that girl that Seth and I saw you with that day?"

Roman nodded. "Yeah, we had met each other a few months earlier and we didn't started dating until a few weeks after we saw you. I'm in love with her and she's my world."

He smiled as he began to think about Katrina. Something that he has been thinking about since the dinner that they had with her father has been made clear with this conversation with Janelle.

"Look, you have Seth and you have your child with him." Said Roman. "Go be with him, the father of your child. I'm glad to see you're okay, but there's nothing there between us anymore."

Janelle nodded and gave him a small smile before watching Roman walk back into the restaurant to be with his parents. She kicked a few rocks around before going back in to be wtih Seth and her parents.

Roman was talking intensly with his parents, but she knew that it was about something important by the look on his face. Janelle had realized that it was finally over between the two of them. He no longer looked at her the way he used to. She was no longer the center of his universe and even though it broke her heart, Janelle knew that she was part of the reason why.

She had an amazing man in Roman and she threw it all away when she began to sleep with Seth. What made it worse was that they made Roman believe for nine whole months, that the child was his when Janelle and Seth knew that it was a possibility that he wasn't.

Later that night, Roman was in his old room, watching some television when he decided to call Katrina's grandparents. They had given Roman their number in case of anything, especially if it had anything to do with Katrina. Her grandfather picked up and he smiled when he heard Katrina's voice in the background.

"Hey, it's Roman." He told him when he answered.

"Hey, how are you?" He asked.

Roman waited a few moments before responding. "I'm good, everything is good. I hope you guys are spending hte holidays well, but I had something that I would like to ask you."

"Okay, what is it?" Her grandfather asked.

**A/N: What could it be that Roman wants to ask her grandfather? **

**On a side note, I agree with DeeMarie426 with something that you said in your review. I feel like if they keep Roman with the gear that he has on now, fans of 'old school' WWE may start comparing him to the Big Boss Man character or think that WWE is trying to remake that character which I doubt is something that WWE wants to do when it comes to Roman and I just feel like they need to step away from that kind of character when it comes to Roman Reigns. He needs something different. **


	11. Chapter 11

**Thank you to Neisha03Ty, DeeMarie426 and justkimmy for reviewing :) **

Roman returned a few days ago and he and Katrina have been inseperable ever since. They were enjoying not being in school and having the freedom to act like a couple without the worry of people in school finding out. They have been spending a lot more time in each other's place than in their own and woke up pretty much every morning, in each other's arms. Sometimes they would fall asleep, after cuddling and talking all night while other nights were filled with passion.

They were walking around the mall, hand in hand, when they bumped into Katrina's father. She felt Roman tense up a bit and gently tightened her grip on his large hand. Roman seemed to relax a bit and Katrina loosened her grip. Greeting her father, she stepped back to Roman's side and felt him intertwine their fingers.

"I see you're not afraid to show her off in the mall." Said her father.

Katrina sighed. "Dad, please don't start with this. Everybody's having a good time this holiday and to be honest, we're just really happy. Why do you always have something negative to say about us?"

"He makes you happy?" He asked his daughter as he looked into her blue eyes.

"Yes, I'm very happy with Roman." Katrina replied. "Why is that so hard for you to believe?"

Her father stood quiet, not knowing what to say. "I believe that you can be happy. It's just hard for me to believe that it's with him because of all of the obstacles that the two of you have, being together."

"Sir, just because we have those obstacles doesn't mean that I can't try to make her happy." Replied Roman. "I love to see the smile on her face everyday and to hear her laugh and I like knowing that I can do that. The moments that her and I share outside of school make it that much special to us and it helps us appreciate the small things in our relationship a lot more. Our relationship may not be considered normal because of the obstacles or whatnot of our relationship but it's what makes it different. I'm in love with your daughter and I'm not going to leave this relationship."

Roman walked away and left Katrina smiling in front of her dad. She cleared her throat when he noticed and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "I'm not going to leave him, Daddy. I'm in love with him too."

She reached Roman and her father saw when he gave his daughter a kiss. With Katrina's back being turned to him, all he could see was Roman's face when it lit up and when he smiled at something that she had told him. They held hands again before continuing to walk around the mall. Her father knew that they were right. But there was something about what he had been through in the past, something way to similar to this, that made him not completely approve of their relationship.

He texted Anna and called his grandparents to ask them if they could meet tonight for dinner at his house. They all responded saying that were able to tonight and were looking forward to see him. This was going to be the day that he was going to tell Katrina and Anna the real story of him and their mother. The _entire _story, from beginning to end.

_Later that day..._

Katrina and Roman had just arrived at her father's house and they were wondered why he wanted Roman to come so badly when they didn't get along to great. She also wondered if there's anything that they did that her dad would consider to be bad other than their relationship.

Snuggling up on the couch, Roman whispered sweet words in Katrina's ear making her smile and happy. He made her laugh and her grandparents smiled hearing her laughter fill the living room. When dinner was ready, they all sat down around the table and began to eat as the dining room filled with conversation.

"I have something to say." Began Katrina's father. Everyone turned their attention to him as they ate. "That night when Katrina told me about her and Roman, grandma had told me to not criticize because I should be the last one to do such a thing in this situation. Anna and Katrina asked what they were talking about and I told them that it was nothing but the truth is...I have personally experienced what Katrina and Roman are going through."

"Dad, what are you talking about?" Asked Anna as she and her younger sister looked at him confused.

He swallowed his food and drank skome of his soda. "Remember when I told the two of you that your mother and I met in school?"

The sisters nodded, remembering being told about it. "Well, when we met, your mother was Katrina's age. I was about a year older than Roman when we met. I was a professor and she was a student in her first year in the Master's program for Nursing. It was in the same college but I never taught anything that had to do with health or anything related to it, so there wasn't much people who knew us, especially me. It's not like in Katrina's case where Roman's also a football coach so there's a possibility of a lot more people in school who'll have at least an idea of who he is."

"What happened?" Asked Anna as Katrina just sat there and listened.

Their father sighed. "When our parents found out, hers were worried because they thought that I would try to take advantage of her because of the age difference and her being so much younger than me and they didn't want anything bad to happen to her if the wrong person at school were to find out that we were together. They..." Pointing to his parents. "...were worried because they didn't want me to lose my career for a girl."

"After a few more weeks, her parents forced us to take a break." He continued. "Or in their words, break up. They thought that it wasn't the best time for us to be together, no matter how much they liked me. Her education was a bit more important to them and if our feelings were true and genuine after she graduated, then we could get back together. I didn't fight for her or for us the way that I should have. So when Roman stood up to me when I told you that I didn't want the two of you to continue seeing each other...a part of me was happy because Katrina found somebody who's willing to fight for her more than I ever did during that period when your mother and I weren't together. But the other part of me was worried because I genuinly didn't want her to miss out on something that she's been working so hard to achieve and because I didn't want her to go through what I ended up going through when your mother left."

They all stayed quiet, including Roman who was paying attention to the story as he stole a few glances at Katrina, knowing that she may not have noticed.

"Katrina, I see the way Roman looks at you." He told his youngest daughter. "It's as if you're the only person around when he sets his eyes on you and when he's around he says he loves you, I can tell that he means it. You'd have to be crazy to not notice that he's madly in love with you and that he's protective of you and willing to fight for you. But I don't want you to get hurt like I did when your mother left. For all of those years after we got back together, a part of her resented me for not trying hard enough to make sure that we stayed together even though her parents didn't want us to until she finished getting her Master's."

"Dad, you don't want me to get hurt, yet you wanting us to not be together is going to hurt me." Said Katrina. "I understand that you want to protect Anna and I from everything in this world that you may consider to be a bad thing, I truly get that. But I'm not a little girl anymore, Dad. I'm going to be twenty-three in a few months and I need to learn on my own. I'll always be your daughter, but you can't protect us from every single thing in this world forever."

After they were all done, Katrina and Roman were ready to leave for the night when her father stopped her and asked to talk to her privately. Roman continued to go to the car to start it, leaving them alone.

"I'm not mad at you if that's what you think." Katrina told him. "I just thought that with you personally having experienced this yourself, you'd be a bit more understanding of the situation."

"I am understanding." He replied. "I don't know what to say to make you see that I'm just worried. I don't want you getting into trouble."

Katrina sighed and looked around. "Dad, we're doing the best that we can to avoid any trouble at school. It's been working just fine for the last few months. We can last a little while longer with this being a secret from everyone at school. I'm tired of everybody telling me to be careful. I've been careful since the beginning of our relationship. I don't need people to keep saying it as if I'm a child or as if I'm somebody that has trouble remembering things. How much longer do I have to keep hearing it from people? Five more months seeing as I won't be able to graduate until May? I'm not a child anymore, Dad. Stop treating me like one."

She started to walk away and heard her dad calling out for her. Katrina stopped and turned around. "What is it? You're going to critizice us even more than what you already have?"

He looked at her, without saying anything. "You don't know anything about him, Dad. It's been about two months since I first told you about us and not once have you taken the time out to get to know him. All you know is what I've told you about Roman. If you truly care about my happiness, then you get to know him. The real him, just like I have. You'll see that he's a really good guy."

Katrina walked away again and got into Roman's black Tahoe and he watched as they pulled out of the drive way. They pulled off and he watched until he couldn't see them anymore in the darkness of the night that had fallen. They reached Roman's townhouse and Katrina made a beeline to the door and waited for him to open the door. She went upstairs and quickly made her way to the shower. Roman wondered if she was okay and if her conversation with her father was to blame for why she seemed upset.

He took of his clothes and surprised Katrina in the shower when he closed the door behind him to prevent the water from coming out. The glass was already beginning to steam up from the hot water that she had running from the showerhead and sighed happily when she felt his arms and his kisses.

"You alright?" Roman asked her softly when she poured some of her body wash into her hands.

"I don't want to talk about it." She responded quietly. "I just want to relax and just be happy without somebody putting in their two cent into it."

Roman cupped her face in between his hands and kissed her gently. The kiss became passionate and Katrina grabbed his waist to keep him close to her. Grabbing her behind, he picked her up and automatically felt her legs wrap around his waist without breaking the kiss. She moaned feeling his tounge against hers and Roman felt his member beginning to become erected.

Katrina moved her hips against his and heard Roman recieve it with a groan when he felt her skin touch his erection. They pulled away from each other and he watched as she guided his long and thick erection, more heavy than what it usually was, and entered the tip into her passage. As he slowly entered her, she moaned wanting more of him inside of her. Once he was as far in as he could possible go, Roman began to thrust into her after she had adjusted to the size.

She dug her nails into his shoulders as she held on to him. Katrina leaned her head back against the wall as she moaned in pleasure and felt Roman begin to suckle on her nipples. Digging her nails into his soaked hair, Katrina kept him there and licked her lips and continued to moan, feeling Roman burying himself deeper into her.

Leaving marks on each other, their heads were spinning and they just wanted more. With the new semester starting in a few days, they were going to make sure they enjoyed each other as much as they could. Feeling an orgasm getting near, Katrina tried to hold it in, to keep from having Roman stop.

Not being able to hold it in for any longer than what she was able to, Roman felt her release as Katrina tightly held on to him and kept him close. After a few more thrusts, he pulled out when he knew that he was close, and stroked his erection until he found his warm release getting on her skin. Digging his face into her neck, Roman tried to catch his breath and felt the pulse on Katrina's neck as she tried to catch hers.

_**Two hours later...**_

Katrina and Roman laid in bed, clothed in their pajams. She had her head on his chest as he rested his arm around her waist. Playing with her hair, Roman remembered the conversation that he had with her grandfather the night that he had asked him what he wanted to ask. Roman told him that he wanted to plan it out and take it one step at a time. This was the first step in doing that.

"Would you like to move in together?" He asked Katrina in a soft voice.

She looked up at him. "Like living together?"

Roman nodded. "We could start looking for a place that we would both like. I figured that we spend more time in each other's house than what we do in our own, and it would make it a bit easier. We won't have to wait until we come over or until we see each other at school to be together even for a few minutes. I get to wake up to you everyday and I can home to you all the time instead of coming home to an empty house."

Katrina smiled as she thought about it. "That sounds nice. How soon can we start looking for a place?"

He looked down at her. "Does that mean, 'yes'?"

She nodded and pecked his lips. "I really like the thought of you coming home to me."

Roman smiled and gave her a long and sweet kiss. "We can start looking tomorrow if you'd like."

"That sounds perfect." She replied with another kiss.

"I love you." He whispered against her lips.

Katrina smiled. "I love you, too."

**A/N: Anyone who has twitter, my twitter handle is _Reigns14 Just let me know that you're from here so I could know who you are and give you a follow :) **

**Anyone else just as excited as I am that Roman Reigns won the Battle Royal to be in the WWE World Heavyweight Championship Ladder Match at the MITB ppv next week? It would make me very happy to see him win that match and be the new champion. **


	12. Chapter 12

**Thank you to Neisha03Ty, DeeMarie426 and justkimmy for reviewing :) **

**A/N: I know it's been a while since I've uploaded anything for this story and I would like to apologize. There's been a few things that have come up that have kept me busy and have kept me from putting as much attention as I would like to this story. Hopefully this chapter would somewhat make up for it. I hope everyone enjoys :) **

The last few days have been exciting for Katrina and Roman. They began looking for a place to live as well as getting ready for the new semester. Roman had to go in a few days earlier than what Katrina had to so that he could get his classes ready. Things between Katrina and her father had been easing up a bit and getting back to the way that it used to be and she was happy that it was. Her father was finally trying to understand what she was feeling and seemed to have an easier time accepting their relationship and understand their situation.

_**Two months later...**_

Roman and Katrina had moved into their new house about a month ago and they couldn't be happier. Yes, it was tricky when it came to people they knew wanting to come over if they didn't know about the couple, yet they somehow managed to deal.

Katrina, only having two classes for the semester, only had to go to school two days out of the week. She was surprised that she only had two classes left to take, but it was the only two that she still needed in order to graduate in May. Once she was done for the day, Katrina walked to the building that Roman would be teaching a class in and saw his students walking out of the room. Katrina blended into the sea of students that were invading the hallway from every room and from every direction, hoping to not get noticed. She walked into the room and saw Roman getting his things together and rubbing his face in his hands when he sat back in his chair.

"Hey, you." Katrina said sweetly when she reached his desk. Looking up, he smiled at her and felt a little better.

"Hey, beautiful." He replied, giving her a wink and a smile. "You're done for the day?"

Katrina nodded. "Yeah and I don't know what else to do. I cleaned the entire house yesterday while you were sleeping, out of boredom because I didn't have to come to school yesterday. Are you feeling any better?"

Roman had gotten a stomach virus that was going around, from something that he had eaten. He called in sick yesterday, so she took care of him. Fortunately, he was feeling a bit better today and decided to come to work.

"Yeah, I'm okay." He replied. "My body and my head is just killing me right now and I'm hungry but I don't feel like eating anything."

Katrina turned on her heels and went to close the door. Coming back, she saw Roman stand up and rest his arms on her waist.

"Reading my mind?" She asked with a soft smile.

Roman responded with a smile of his own. "Maybe." He leaned down and gave her a sweet kiss. "Don't make any plans for tonight."

"Why not?" She asked, still with her hands on his big and strong arms.

"Because I have something planned for us tonight." Roman replied. "I promise, it'll be good."

Katrina nudged his nose with hers when she smiled. "I love you."

"I love you, too Baby." He replied with a sweet, but quick peck. Roman watched as she left and couldn't wipe the silly smile that he knew he had on his face. Katrina had completely turned him into a huge softie and he was surprised at how he would literally drop anything for her and how he would do just about anyhting to make her happy. Roman's world was quickly beginning to revolve around her and she held on tightly to his heart and wasn't letting go anytime soon.

_**Later that night...**_

Katrina had gotten home and decided to take a hot shower to help her relax. It had felt like a long day to her after finishing up two papers for a class and being school just about all day, trying to get it done. When she was finished, the aroma of food from the kitchen filled her nostrils. Katrina closed her eyes and felt her mouth water at the smell.

Getting dressed, she walked out of the bedroom and saw the kitchen dimly lit with candles. Roman had just finished setting up the table and the food looked incredible. It was her favorite food, alfredo with shrimp, rice with beans and fried plantains.

"Where did you learn how to make all of this?" She asked him softly as she continued to walk into the kitchen with a smile on her face.

"I looked up the recipes and tried to follow the intructions on how to make it." He responded. "I practiced over at Dean's place so that it would be good for when I made it for you. I wanted to surprise you with this."

Katrina looked up at him, into his grey eyes and melted as her heart swelled with happiness and love. "You are very adorable and sweet."

Roman smiled as his hands went to the nape of her neck. After sharing a few kisses, they sat down and Roman watched as she tried each dish.

"This is really good." She mumbled after trying the food. He smiled, proud of himself for the good of a job that he did in cooking.

Roman looked at the curves of her body and the curves on her face. The way she smiled when she was happy and the way her blue eyes looked into his. He smiled at the way she danced as if there was nobody watching her and how happy it made her to be on stage doing something that she loved and how it made her be open for everybody to see.

Katrina's touch made him weak and made his heart race a little faster. She did to him what no other woman ever could and Katrina took him places that no other woman could either. Roman's mood changed along with her's, making him feel as if they were as one, emotionally. It surprised him how much someone could easily affect his mood without realizing that they had that ability.

She meant the world to him and not once did he realize that when they first met almost a year ago, that he would be head over heels for this woman that's sitting in front of him now. Katrina makes him the happiest guy in the world and he feels like he's on top of the world. Roman was proud that he got to call her his and vice versa. He doesn't even remember much of what it was like without her in his life but he was one hundred percent sure that he didn't want to be reminded of it.

Three hours later, Katrina was cuddled at his side on the blankets and pillows that they laid on in front of the fire place in the living room. They had just spent the last two hours making love and Katrina couldnt' ask for a better night. She lightly traced the tattoo on his chest, feeling him gently rub her back. Katrina was snuggled underneath a blanket, while Roman only had the waist down covered.

Reaching for his jeans, Roman took something out of his pocket. Katrina looked up and saw a small box in his hands. She propped herself up on her elbow to get a better look on what was going on. Roman opened the box and showed a simple platnium band with a few small diamonds on it.

"It's a promise ring." He said softly. "I know it's not much, but I was hoping that you could take it as a sign of commitment from me." Katrina choked up, feeling tears in her eyes. "Is that happy tears?"

Katrina nodded when she realized that he was beginning to think that she was upset. "I wasn't expecting it. But it makes me really happy. What are we promising though?"

"I'm promising to be yours forever." Roman replied as he wiped the tears from her eyes with the pads of his fingers when he sat up. "I'm promising to be the best man that I can ever be to you. I'm not promising that it'll be perfect, but I promise to give you the best love that I can."

Roman took the ring and slipped it on her slender finger. Katrina straddled him as he laid back down. Smiling down at him after taking another look at her ring, she kissed him. Roman's arms snaked around her waist until his hands began to travel up her back and her sides. It wasn't long until they began another round of passionate love making.

_**The next day...**_

Katrina and Roman woke up the next day, still in each other's arms. They were still in the living room, on the floor surrounded by pillows and blankets. Katrina looked at her hand and smiled happily at the promise ring that he had given her last night. Feeling Roman beginning to move around, she looked up and saw the sleepy smile on his face and his hair in a mess.

They stayed in each other's embrace a while longer before taking a shower, not even paying attention to the time as they made love even more. Their love making had become more passionate and lasted a little longer until they couldn't physically go any further.

Katrina checked her phone when they got out, and saw that she had gotten a text from her father while she was in the shower.

"Roman, my dad wants to go out to lunch with you." She told him.

He looked at her curiously as he walked around, still with just a towel wrapped around his waist. "Just me?"

She nodded after a few moments. "Yeah, he said he wanted to have lunch with just you today at one. He didn't give a reason though."

Roman shrugged. "I guess. I don't want him to think I'm wanting to ditch him."

Katrina gave him the name and address of the place that her dad wanted to meet him and Roman began to get ready. They had spent the entire morning being intimate and Roman now had a little over an hour to meet up with her father.

"I'll go hang out with Derek." Said Katrina as she got dressed. "I need to get a manicure."

Roman chuckled as she made a face while she looked at her nails and kissed her lips. "I love you."

She smiled. "I love you, too."

**A/N: I know this chapter is a bit shorter than what I usually do for this story, but I promise to try to make the next one a bit longer. **

**Side note: Even though it may not be Roman's time right now to be champ, I know that he'll eventually be WWE World Heavyweight Champion one day. It's in his future, no doubt about it. **


	13. Chapter 13

**Thank you to Alexandria M, DeeMarie426 and justkimmy for reviewing :) **

Roman got to the restaurant that Katrina's father would be waiting for him in. He parked his black Tahoe and saw him step out of his car. They greeted each other and walked into the restaurant and looked for a seat. Roman got a text and smiled when he saw that it was from Katrina.

_Katrina: Thank you for last night. I loved it :) _

_Roman: I'm glad you did. I really mean all of those promises that I made to you last night. _

_Katrina: I know. Just make sure you keep them. I love you. _

_Roman: I will. I love you, too._

Once they ordered their food, Roman felt a bit awkward, wondering what he could talk to him about. Thankfully for Roman, he started the conversation.

"Tell me about your last relationship." He said. "You seem like a very private guy. I don't think I've ever heard you mention anything about any of your previous relationships."

Roman thought for a moment. "I do tend to be private about my personal life, but it's not on purpose. It's just how I am."

"It's okay." Replied Mr. Rodriguez. "But, seriously though, what was your last relationship like, how long did it last, why did you two break up?"

"We met in college." Replied Roman. "Everything was fine until the weeks that led up to us breaking up."

"What happened?" Asked Mr. Rodriguez.

Roman waited a moment before responding. "She cheated on me and it was with someone that I saw as a brother."

"I'm sorry to hear that." Said Katrina's father. "How did you find out?"

"When she went into labor." Said Roman. The man looked up at him when he heard the last four words of that sentence. "I didn't know that she was cheating on me until she went into labor. She got pregnant, and so me thinking that I was the father, went to every single appointment that had to do with the baby. I helped buy things for the baby. I did everything I could for her during that pregnancy because I was trying to do the right thing and for nine whole months, they made me believe that it was my child. When she went into labor the guy was there in the hospital. I didn't think anything of it until I remembered that he lived all the way in Iowa and I was still in Georgia and the time of the year that she gave birth...why was he there?"

"That's when he told me everything." Roman continued. "I felt stupid because I noticed little things and I didn't bother to connect the dots until after I found out. I guess a part of me didn't want to think that anything bad was going on."

"Is that child yours?" Asked Mr. Rodriguez when the waiter bought their food.

Roman shook his head. "No, it's not mine. After the baby was born, we did a DNA test and the baby is his. After the baby was born though, I began to move out of the house and I moved in with one of my friends. When we found out the baby wasn't mine, I was devasted and so I finally broke up with her and cut all ties."

"How did you deal with it?" He asked.

Roman thought for a moment. "I don't know how I did it. I think that the support from friends and family is what really helped, as well as me just having some time to myself to think about things. I asked myself so many times if there was anything that I had done wrong to cause it to happen to me. I thought I had everything going for me, you know? An education, college ball, a good girl by my side, a possible future in the NFL. So when everything happened, I had just gotten off the heels of seeing that my career as a professional football player may not happen. It felt like my world was falling apart and I didn't know what to do to stop it from getting to the spiriling out of control part. I went to teach high school English and became a coach for the football team until I moved here and began teaching where I am now."

"It's changed you, hasn't it?" He asked.

Roman ate some of his food and nodded. "I think that it caused me to become a bit more sensitive and a bit more vulnerable when it comes to relationships and love. That girl was somebody that I thought I would spend a long time with. The love that I had for her ran deeply and I cared for her just as much. I couldn't stay with her though because I knew that I would never be able to trust her again no matter what she did to make it up to me. I would always hold it against her and the moment she did something to mess up, I would take that chance to leave her. But also, because of what happened, I say 'I love you' more often."

"Everyday?" Asked Mr. Rodriguez.

"Yeah." Replied Roman. "I learned that you should tell that someone that you love them. Don't just assume that they'll always know. That's why I tell Katrina every single day at every chance that I have that I love her. I want her to know that I do and I want her to hear it from me. I want to make this relationship last as long as I can. She's made the happiest that I've been in a very long time. Katrina's my girl and you can't let pain make you forget how to love."

Her father smiled when he saw his face light up at the sound of daughter's name.

"Speaking of Katrina...can I ask you something?" Said Roman, in a curious tone.

_**Hours later...**_

Katrina and Roman arrived at her father's house for dinner with her grandparents and her sister, Anna. Roman and her father actually greeted each other without any akwardness between the two. They seemed to be getting along better, especially after their lunch today. Her father had just wanted to get to know Roman a little better and show that it was a genuine effort that he was putting into it, rather than just doing it for the hell of making Katrina happy. Regardless, she was happy to see that her father was trying to get along with the man of her dreams.

After dinner, they were all in the living room when Katrina and Anna's father came into the living room, looking at his phone with his eyebrows furrowed.

"Dad, what's wrong?" Asked Anna when she noticed.

He looked up at everyone that was in front of him in the living room. "I just got a call from one of my friends...he saw her at the mall. She's back."

"Who's back?" Asked Katrina.

"Your mother." He simply replied.

Anna and Katrina's jaw dropped when they heard the news about their mother. They havent' seen her since the divorce was finalized, almost seven years ago. Things have changed since then and the sisters have been doing just fine without her around anymore.

"What do you mean she's back?" Asked Anna.

Their father shrugged as he tried to form the words. "He said that he saw your mother in the mall with somebody else. He believes that it may be the same guy that she was with when she filed for divorce and left. We never saw who the guy was so we can't know for sure who the guy is. He overheard them talking to somebody and saying that they were looking for houses here. They didn't mention a neighborhood."

Roman noticed Katrina's mood and body language change instantly. He wrapped an arm around her waist and watched as she laid her head on his shoulder when he did.

"How are you not upset about this?" Asked Katrina when she looked over at Katrina.

Katrina scoffed. "You think it doesn't bother me just because I'm not saying anything about it? I'm pissed off about the fact that she's back. Our mother has been gone for almost seven years and not once has she ever given a damn about us to keep in contact over the years or even let herself be seen."

Anna's behavior soften when she realized how hurt Katrina must have still been about what had happened all those years ago.

"We had to finish growing up without our mom." Katrina continued as she sat up on the couch. "Dad sacrificed so much for us when she left and I'm so thankful for everything that he's done for us and for the things that he's taught us. What has she done over the last six years? Absolutely nothing. I don't want anything to do with her anymore. She'll always be our mom, Anna. We can't change that. But me, personally, I don't want her in my life. So don't question how I'm feeling about this."

Katrina got up from the couch, grabbed her purse and walked out. Roman looked around and went after her, catching up to her when Katrina got to his car. She landed in his arms and dug her face into his chest.

"She must have forgotten all about me and Anna." Whispered Katrina. "She doesn't even seem to have the slightest of doubts about moving back here."

Roman didn't know what to say. His heart broke, hearing the pain in her voice as tears stung her eyes. Keeping his arms around her, he tried to sooth her as much as he could before her dad came out with a worried look on her face.

"Daddy, please don't make me see her again." She pleaded with him as she found herself crying suddenly. It hurt as she remembered what it felt like to see her mother walk away from her and never come back. To know that she was never there for Katrina during the times when she felt she needed her mother the most.

"I won't, sweetie." He replied. "You don't have to see her if you don't want to."

Katrina nodded and kept herself in the comfort of Roman's arms until she stopped crying. She got into the passanger seat of the car a while after and watched Roman walk towards her father.

"Katrina wants to go home." Roman told her father softly. "I'll take her and I'll make sure she gets some rest."

He nodded. "I'm sorry if I ruined her mood a bit. I just thought that they should know that their mother is back in the area. She's still their mother no matter how much they want nothing to do with her."

"I understand and it's fine." Roman replied. "Maybe tomorrow, she'll feel a little better."

"Let me know how she's feeling tomorrow." Said Mr. Rodriguez. "And as for that question that you asked me earlier today at lunch..." Roman nodded and looked on to hear what the answer would be. "I don't see why not. So 'yes' is your answer."

Roman smiled and shook his hand. "Thank you, sir."

"Yeah, yeah." Said Katrina's father. "But just know that even though she's an adult, she's still my daughter and I'm gonna protect her too."

"Yes, sir." Said Roman seriously, but with a hint of a smile in his voice. "Goodnight."

A few days later, Roman was woken up by his alarm clock and knew that he had to get ready for work. Katrina laid in his arms, beginning to wake up. She didn't have any classes until tomorrow, so she would comfortably stay at home. Insisting that they take a shower together, Katrina gave in and allowed him to comfort her while they did.

Katrina quickly made him some breakfast before leaving and smiled happily as he whispered sweet words in her ear. The weekend had been a bit rough for her, emotionally after finding out that her mother was back around and she didn't know what she'd do if Roman wasn't there to help her get through it.

"I'll see you later, okay?" Asked Roman as they shared a few kisses.

Katrina nodded and felt comfort in his arms and with his kisses. "Have a good day. I love you."

"I love you, too. Have a good day." Roman replied with a few more kisses before leaving.

**A/N: Roman and Katrina's dad are finally getting on good terms. Do you think that Katrina has a right, not wanting her mother back in her life after nearly seven years of being apart from her? **


	14. Chapter 14

**Thank you to justkimmy, Slytherin Studios, DeeMarie426, Alexandria M and corbettluv for reviewing :) **

At the mall, Katrina walked into an electronics store to get a new laptop. She went to one of the people who worked there to see what the best laptop was that she could get. What Katrina didn't notice was the familiar woman in the distance that was looking straight at her. A woman with brown hair and grey eyes, looking over her shoulder every few seconds to watch Katrina's movements and her facial expressions.

The woman looked on as someone else joined Katrina. That other person being Anna. Not wanting them to see her, she blended in with the crowd that kept passing by, and watched as they both laughed and talked as they looked around. They were later joined by two men a few minutes later and she watched as they embraced each other. Katrina and Anna both looked at the men with love in their eyes and she quickly figured out that there was romance in the air. Heart strings were pulled when she realized how much she had been missing out on since she left on that fateful day.

About half an hour later, Katrina walked out with one of the men that had greeted her. He was a tall and muscular man with long, black hair and tan skin. His eyes were grey and he had a goatee that looked as if it had just been trimmed. As Katrina leaned her back against the railing, she gave him the sweetest smile that she has ever seen Katrina give anyone, as he spoke and circled his arms around her waist. Putting his hands into his pocket, he leaned down and gave her long kisses as he eventually cupped her chin with one of his hands.

Anna and her guy came out, holding hands and met up with the other two and made their way throughout the mall. The woman who looked on, held back from going up to them and showing her face. It's been seven years since she last saw either of her daughters and seeing them again, she regrets ever leaving them and not doing a damn thing to make sure that they knew how much she still loved them.

"You ready to go?" Asked a voice, from beside her. She looked over and saw her fiancee standing beside her and holding a bag of hers.

"Yeah, I'm ready." She replied getting her emotions together to not show that her heart ached over something from years ago.

_**Days later...**_

"You're really happy today." Said Roman as Katrina curled up beside him that night.

"Because it's beginning to hit me that this is my last semester ever." She replied to him. "I'll be graduating in a few weeks if everything goes well and I'll be really happy."

Roman laid on his side and faced Katrina. Looking into her blue eyes and got lost in them. He began to think about the big day and how he wanted to be in the front row, seeing his girl graduate with a PhD. Katrina was so excited just talking about and he couldn't help but smile at her. Roman just thought that it made her look so adorable and he liked that about her.

Grabbing the nape of her neck, Roman leaned in and kissed her softly. "I love you, so much."

Katrina's stomach filled with butterflies with the way that he had said it. It was different this time, in a good way. The look in his eyes and the sound of his voice, made her weak in the knees and her heart beat a little faster.

"I love you, too." She said to him as her lips were captured by his for another soft kiss. It wasn't long before the kiss became passionate and Katrina found herself in Roman's arms. Her fingers dug into his messy hair and kept him lips where they were. Pulling back, she smiled up at him and looked into her eyes. "Let's go watch that movie." Katrina told him.

Roman shook his head and saw her look curiously at him. "I have other plans for us tonight."

Katrina pouted but it quickly faded and turned into a smile when Roman planted his lips on hers again. The kiss was more passionate than before and the heat between their bodies quickly rose. He turned Katrina on her back and hovered over her as his waist nestled in between her legs.

Roman quickly undressed her and planted small kisses on her body. Katrina didn't waste anytime getting him out of his shirt and sweats. She saw the erection that was beginning to form on Roman's member and she bit her lip before nipping at his lips. She rolled him over so that he was on his back and she kissed her way down to his member.

Roman licked his lips in anticipation. Katrina's warm lips wrapped around his member and began to suck. He let low groans of pleasure as she bobbed her head at a steady pace. Her tounge worked wonders as she did, taking him to cloud nine and back as he was taken to the edge more than once. Before releasing his warm liquid, he pulled her up and kissed her passionately. Her moans when his tounge entered her mouth kept him hard and wanting more.

Katrina straddled him and guided his member to her passage. She sunk down on it and they both moaned simultaneously. She began to slowly move her hips up and down bringing the both of them to familiar and pleasurable heights. Roman grabbed her hips and watched as she moved up and down on his hard shaft. Katrina rested her hands on his chest and leaned her head back in pleasure as she continued to moan as she gave in to the pleasure.

Roman's hands moved to butt and kneaded them, making her moan louder. His moans weren't far behind as she sat up a bit and picked up the pace. His hands traveled to her thigs and then back up to her hips, feeling them move before moving to her breasts causing Katrina to arch her back in pleasure. Roman's eyes were filled with lust when Katrina looked into them, making her bite her lips again. It took a few more thrusts before Katrina found herself releasing her cum around his erected shaft and Roman wasn't far behind. Being so close to an orgasm himself, after a few more deep thrusts, his cum shooted deep inside of her. Katrina planted herself on top of him when he finished and pulled out of her. Both of them breathing hard until it slowed down, Roman just held on to her and kissed her head. When they got themselves together again, they began one of many more rounds that they would share that night.

_**Days before graduation...**_

"Sweetie, you got everything you need for graduation?" Asked Katrina's father as she looked through her things.

"Yeah, I got everything." Katrina replied. "My cap and gown is in my room and I have the time that the ceremony will start."

When he saw Katrina beginning to run around, he gently grabbed her arm and then her shoulders. "I'm proud of you."

Katrina smiled up at her father. He's has been one of her biggest supporters her whole life and she didn't know what she would do without him around.

"Thank you, Daddy." She said to him as they shared a hug. This time around, her father's hug was a little more tighter and lasted a little longer than usual. Mr. Rodriguez knew why he did as such, but Katrina on the other hand wondered why. "Are you okay?"

He pulled away and cleared his throat as he looked down at his youngest daughter. "I'm perfectly fine. It's just hitting me now, that you're finally a young woman and that you're really going to be out on your own. You're not going to need me anymore. And with Roman in your life now, I'm not going to be the first guy that you run to if you need something."

Katrina slightly pouted and looked up at the man standing in front of her. "You'll always be my dad though. I'll always love you and you'll always be important in my life. I am growing up though and that's something that I can't stop and keep from happening."

He smiled down at her and kissed her forehead. "I know, I just miss my little girl is all."

She walked into his arms and gave him another hug. They ended up meeting with Anna for lunch and walked around the mall afterwards. They took the opportunity to spend some time together, just the three of them like they used to when they were growing up and wanted to have quality time with each other. After Katrina and Anna's parents got divorced, things changed for a bit because of everything that happened in between the beginning and the end of the whole process. Things slowly, but surely, got back to a somewhat level of normalcy.

Once they were in the mall, they were stopped by some guy that wanted to ask for directions to get to one of the new stores that were just built into the mall. When they turned around, they saw a familiar face standing in front of them, making all three stop dead in their tracks.

"Emily?" Said their father as he stepped a little closer, as if to get a better look at the woman that was standing in front on them.

"Hi, James." The woman replied. "It's nice to see you again. It's been a while."

He stayed quiet as if thinking for a moment. "Yeah, seven years to be exact."

Emily winced at the sound of the amount of years that it's been since they last saw each other. "I'm really sorry, James."

"And it's taken you this long to apologize because of what?" He asked her.

She stayed quiet, not knowing what to say to him. Emily looked at the two women that stood by his side, with Katrina's cold blue eyes, staring with ice and venom filling them up completely.

"Anna and Katrina." She whispered quietly.

"What do you want with us after all this time, Mom?" Asked Anna.

Emily's eyes fell as she looked down, disappointed with herself. "It's nice to see you again."

"Is it, really?" Katrina shot. "Because it doesn't look like you've wanted to see us for the last seven years. Hell, it doesn't even look like you've thought about us."

"Girls, that's enough!" Their father's voice boomed. "As much as I would like for these two to verbally tear you apart right now and in every which way possible for them, I didn't finish raising them like that. They have all the intellect in the world to do so, but that is NOT how I taught them. You want to talk to them, you do it on _their _terms. Remember..._they _are the daughters that you walked out on, it wasn't just me that you left. I had to finish raising them on my own and make sure that they were put through college to achieve what they wanted to be in life. Good luck with these two. They just came out just like their father."

He walked away from all of them before Anna followed. Katrina stayed looking at her mother, who was now standing in front of her for the first time since she left all those years ago. A part of her wanted to run up to her mother and hug her. Katrina wanted to see if she still wore the same perfume that she loved on her mother and to see if her hug still felt the same. But the other part of her wanted to turn her back on her just like she did to them when Katrina was still sixteen years old.

That part of her won and so Katrina looked around before walking away and meeting up with her sister and father who were waiting for her. Katrina wasn't sure if she was willing to talk to her just yet, no matter how ready she was to hear what she had to say. All Katrina could think about was the fact that her mother had the audacity to walk out on them. How can a parent leave a child or family behind without looking back after claiming that they love them so much?

Katrina was surprised by how much pain the memories put her in and that's something that mad eher decide to walk away for now. The pain felt as if it would be to much for her to handle at the moment and she knew that there were times when her mouth would go faster than her brain, no matter how smart she was.


	15. Chapter 15

**Thank you to Neisha03Ty, Alexandria M, corbettluv, Slytherin Studios and DeeMarie426 for reviewing :) **

_**Graduation night...**_

Katrina has officially graduated with a Phd in Psychology. Even though she has to do a certain amount of hours on a permit before getting her license, Katrina is more than willing to do the work needed in order to achieve that goal. She went out to dinner with Roman, and her family to celebrate the milestone.

"I'd like to make a toast." Said Anna when she stood up. All of them had stopped eating and talking to pay attention to what was going to be said. "To my little sister, Katrina. You don't know how proud I am of you. There's been times where you thought it would take forever to get here and times where you wanted to give up because of how hard it got. You stuck it out and you accomplished a dream of yours that you've had since we were in middle school."

Anna began to choke up, causing Katrina to feel a lump in her throat. "It's been a hard few years for us, but together we've stuck it out and we made it. _You _made and _you _did it and all by the age of twenty-three. Through it all, we've become the best of friends and we're closer than ever before. I love you so much and I'm so proud of you, Katrina."

Katrina stood up and quickly made her way over to Anna. They shared a big and long hug as they both tried to fight more tears from falling. After a few moments, she made her way back to her seat, next to Roman. Everyone had all made their toasts except for Roman. Katrina didn't really notice until they were getting ready for desert.

"You alright?" She asked him in his ear.

Roman looked at her and nodded, smiling softly as he kissed her forehead. "I'm okay, Baby."

Her grandfather looked at Roman without Katrina realizing and signaled something to him. Roman waited a few more minutes before clearing his throat and getting everyone's attention as he stood up.

"First of all, I'd like to get congratulate Katrina on graduating today." He started off saying, with his hands in his pockets. "I'm really proud of you sweetheart and I'm glad that I was able to be a part of your final year in reaching this milestone."

Roman began to fidget a bit and Katrina knew him well enough to know that he was nervous about something. She looked up at him curiously wondering why, because he stood up in front of a classroom everyday, talking to hundreds of students.

"Um...I also wanted to say that I uh..." Said Roman, trying to get his words together. "I wanted to be a part of every major thing that happens in your life. I want to be right by your side, supporting you every step of the way. I say this because when I gave you the promise ring, one of the promises that I made to you was the promise of forever."

Katrina looked up at him again and then around the table, wondering what was going to happen. "I remember the promise." She told him softly.

He smiled softly and looked down as he let out a breath that he didn't realize that he was holding in until that moment and looked around. "I've been through so much as far as love goes and I thought that I would never be able to love again because of my previous experience. I was heartbroken and when I met Katrina, I just thought we'd be good friends until I started having feelings for her."

"It was hard because when we started dating, we had to be careful about who knew about our relationship." Roman continued. "But I knew that I couldn't stay away from her. I know that I'm probably not making much sense right now and it's probably because I'm nervous, but what I'm trying to say is..."

Katrina saw Roman get down on one knee when he took out a small black box from his pocket. She gasped and covered her mouth as her eyes started to fill with tears.

"I know I'm not the most perfect guy in the world because I make mistakes. I don't own a mansion, I'm not a millionare and I don't own the most expensive and the most luxurious car that money can buy. I'm just a college professor and a coach for the school's football team. But I love you with all my heart and I don't want to live the rest of my life without you in it. I don't want to remember what it's like to be without you because it'll drive me crazy to ever be without you again. Will you marry me, Katrina?" He asked with hope in his voice.

The ring was a 2 carat, princess cut diamind ring set in platinum and surrounded with 70 diamonds by Neil Lane. Katrina's favorite jeweler. Tears fell from her eyes as she looked back and forth between Roman and the ring, before quickly nodding.

"Yes, I'd love to." She replied, and watched as a big grin broke out on Roman's face. Placing the ring on her slender finger, and hugged her tightly when she jumped into his arms. Spinning her around, Katrina squeled in excitement and pulled back only to be met by his lips for a soft kiss. "I love you."

"I love you, too." Replied Roman with a big grin still on his face. Katrina captured his lips for another kiss and they forgot where they were and that people were still around. This was Katrina's favorite day in her whole life. Not only had she graduated with a PhD, but the man that she was madly in love with had just proposed to her. Katrina was going to spend the rest of her life with this man and she was excited about it.

_**Three weeks later...**_

Katrina and Roman were walking around the mall, hand in hand, enjoying the sunny day that laid ahead of them. They have been in total bliss for the last three weeks and they couldn't be happier. They were now engaged and they no longer had to hide their relationships from anybody. Now that Katrina had graduated, they didn't have to worry about Roman getting into trouble for having relations with a student. It was now less stress that was involved in the relationship, making it better and making them more happier.

Roman had become a bit more protective of Katrina, but she loved it. She knew that his love for her was stronger than ever and he wasn't afraid to show it in front of everybody when they were out in public. Roman showered her with kisses and held her hand, while he also held her, but knew his limit and to not overdue it in public.

"Katrina?" Asked a voice from behind them as they looked at some clothes.

She turned around, only to see her mother standing behind her. "What do you want from me?"

Emily thought for a moment. "I just wanted to talk. I owe you an explanation and no matter how much you don't want to talk to me right now, you deserve an explanation. I'm sure that you heard that I spoke to Anna yesterday."

Katrina just nodded and stayed quiet, not wanting to say anything else. Roman cleared his throat after gently squeezing her hand.

"My name is Roman, I'm her fiancee." He said, sticking out his hand. Emily shook his hand and greeted him, introducing herself.

"Fiancee?" She asked.

Katrina stook out her hand, showing her engagement ring. "He proposed three weeks ago...on the night that I graduated."

"You finally got your bachelors?" Emily asked, excitedly.

"A PhD, mom." Katrina replied. "I'm going to be a clinical psychologist. I have to work on a permit for now to get a certain amount of hours before officially getting my license. I graduted high school at sixteen, remember?"

She shook her head as her mother tried to remember. "Yeah, I remember. Congratulations on the graduation and on the engagement. Is it okay if we talk?"

They walked to the food court and found an empty table to sit at. Roman sat by her side and rested a hand on her thigh. He felt Katrina relax a bit as she placed her purse on the table. "So what is it that you wanted to say?"

"Do you know what happened between your father and I?" She asked.

Katrina thought for a moment. "As far as I know, you were having an affair and then you claimed that you were no longer happy when you were confonted about it. You filed for divorce and when everything was finalized I was left in dad's full custody. What does any of that have to do with why you left Anna and myself?"

"It's true that I was having an extra-marital affair with another man." Emily said. "It wasn't that I was unhappy with your father because I was. He was a good man and he always treated me right. But I resented him because when we started dating, I was a student and he was a professor. I'm sure he told you the story, but nonetheless, I resented him because I wanted him to fight for me when my parents tried to force us to break it off for a while and I felt like he didn't fight at all or as hard as I felt he should for us to stay together."

"Mom, that's seriously no excuse to cheat on the person you're married to." Said Katrina. "So please give me a better excuse." .

Emily sighed. "I filed for divorce because I didn't feel like I was in love with your father anymore. And with my affair, I was starting to have feelings for the other guy. I believed that it wasn't fair to continue to put your father through that and so I let him know what was going on when I filed for divorce. I moved out, little by little, and let things take their course."

"Mom, I just want to know why you left us." Katrina said. "Just because you and Dad got divorced, that doesn't mean that you had to leave when everything was finalized."

"I felt like I couldn't do it anymore." Emily replied. "I felt like I couldn't be a good mother to you and Anna anymore."

Katrina scoffed. "That's bullshit, mom and you know it. I cried myself to sleep everynight after you left because I needed you! I needed you and you weren't there for me, mom. I was only sixteen when you left! Anna and I felt like you didn't want us anymore because when everything was said and done, you didn't fight dad on the whole custody thing. You allowed the court to put me under his care because I was still a minor and not once did you do anything to make sure that you got a good bargain out of it! You had visitation rights, and you didn't even take advantage of that!"

"I love you and Anna and I thought about the two of you every day that I was gone." Emily said.

"No, you didn't, mom!" Katrina exclaimed. "You didn't because if you did, then you should have came back for us! You should have at least stayed in contact so that we could know where you were! Not once did you write us and I know that for a fact because Anna and I had the key to the mailbox. We always got home before dad did and when we checked the mailbox, there was never anything there from you. Not even a phonecall so don't tell me that you love us because a mother should never leave her child the way that you left us! A mother should never leave their child, period! You took advantage of the fact that I was in dad's full custody and with Anna being eighteen at the time, you up and left because you didn't have to worry about her."

Katrina got up and started pacing around. "I hated you so much when I realized that you weren't coming back. I hated you because you were supposed to be our mother! You leaving us and putting dad through the pain and heartache that you put him through hurt us and made me hate you so much more. Dad had to sacrifice so much more than what he already had to do so that he could take care of us and make sure that we stayed in school. He was literally a single father to two teenagers but he was an amazing father. For those seven years that you were gone, he remained the one constant for Anna and I."

"Do you still hate me?" Asked Emily, barely above a whisper.

She hook her head. "No, I don't hate you anymore. I stopped hating you a long time ago because I realized that I couldn't live my life with so much hatred in my heart towards somebody. But I will never forget what you did. Because of you, I was scared to love anyone. I thought that somebody would do to me what you did to us and that terrified me. I almost missed out on the most amazing guy that I've ever met because of the fear that was instilled inside of me after what you did. You've missed out on so much, mom and I don't know if you'll ever be able to make up for that and the pain that you left behind. The good thing that came out of this is that we're all closer now than we ever were. The bad thing is that, Anna and I had to lose our mother for that to happen. Anna and I have accomplished so much in our lives. We're both engaged and set to be married to the men of our dreams. You were never a part of any of those things that a mother is supposed to be a part of. Things that a mother should want to be there for, especially for her little girls."

Katrina walked away before Emily could say anything else. Roman gave her a polite smile and went after his fiancee. He gently grabbed Katrina's waist and pulled her into a hug. Roman felt her quietly sobbing and pulled her to a more private place to let her cry. She gripped on to his grey shirt and cried for what seemed like an eternity before she stopped.

"It's going to be okay." Roman whispered in her ear. He soothed her and calmed her down just enough for Katrina to show her face while still in Roman's arms.

_**That night...**_

Katrina picked up her hair as she walked into the kitchen to check on dinner. She wore a blue dress that made her eyes pop out more. Roman walked up behind her and hugged her while giving her soft little kisses.

"You feeling better?" He asked her quietly.

She shrugged as she turned off the flames and uncovered the pots allowing the aroma of the food to fill the kitchen. "A little bit. It's just all giving me a headache and I don't understand why she cares all of a sudden."

"Try to relax." Roman told her against the skin of her neck. "I know how you get when you stress out on something."

Katrina groaned and leaned back against Roman's hard chest. "This is supposed to be a happy time for me right now. I'm engaged and she's just killing my mood right now."

Roman chuckled softly. "We're going to take a shower later."

"Together?" Katrina asked with a small smile. She felt him nodding against her shoulder and smiled again.

"I'm gonna take care of you tonight." Roman told her. "I want to make you feel better and I want to see you happy."

Katrina's heart swelled with happiness, hearing those words from Roman. She knew him well enough to know when he meant something and knew that he always kept his word with her. Katrina truly felt like the luckiest girl in the world right now when it came to romance because she found her Prince Charming and she wasn't going to let him go.


	16. Chapter 16

**Thank you to Neisha03Ty, corbettluv and DeeMarie426 for reviewing :) **

It's been eight months since the engagement and Katrina and Roman are already planning their wedding. News spread quickly within Katrina and Roman's family about their engagement after it happened. Everyone was happy for them both and wished them much happiness in the years to come. Katrina and Anna's mother on the other hand hadn't wished them much since they last spoke to her eight months ago. They haven't seen Emily or heard from her since then.

They believed that Emily meant nothing of what she said to them when they last spoke and decided to not further pursue anything with their mother. The sisters believed that they were content with how things were going in their life without her and didn't see the need to change their lifestyles for somebody who left them high and dry seven years ago.

"Hey, baby." Said when Katrina walked in through the door that night.

Katrina had a big smile on her face when seh saw Roman and leaned down to kiss him when she walked up to the couch. She curled up to his side when she sat down and nuzzled his chest and after a long day at work, Katrina was just happy to be home and with her fiancee. They talked for a while before a comfortable silence reached the living room.

Roman was at ease with Katrina. Things with her always came so naturally and there was never any difficulty between them like there was with him and Janelle. Of course, they had their share of arguments and disagreements, but things were wonderful in the relationship. He was happy with Katrina and he couldn't ask for a better relationship than this. She was going to be his last and he was going to make sure that he took damn good care of her for the rest of his life.

Katrina had gotten a text on her phone and she picked it up from the table to take a look. She frowned and heard Roman grunt, knowing that he noticed the look on her face. She pecked his lips and looked back down at her phone.

"It's Anna." Said Katrina. "She said that mom found a way to get in contact with dad."

"How?" Asked Roman. "I thought nobody's talked to her in eight months."

Katrina shrugged. "We haven't. But somehow she found a way to get ahold of my dad. Anna doesn't know if she wants to talk to us too or just him."

There was another round of silence filling the air before Roman stood up and held out his hands. Katrina looked up at him and grabbed them, pulling herself up when she did and followed him to the room. Closing the door behind them, Roman made sure that he did everything he could to make her feel at least a little better tonight.

If it wasn't for Katrina reminding him about dinner, Roman would have kept it going and Katrina wouldn't have minded. She came out of the room in one of his shirts and looked at the time. It was already eight and she was too tired to cook anything so her and Roman decided to order some Chinese take-out. While they waited, Roman knew that Katrina had something on her mind.

"Thinking about your mom again?" He asked her softly as they watched television, while waiting for their food to arrive.

Katrina shook her head and played with his hand, tracing the lines on the palm. "I was thinking about something else."

"You wanna talk about it?" Roman asked.

She waited a while before responding. "I was thinking about us and after we get married. I know people say that this is something that should be discussed before marriage, but what do you think about having kids one day?"

Roman looked into her blue eyes and smiled. "You really want kids?"

"Yeah, I do." Katrina replied with a soft smile. "We can start trying for one when we're ready. I've always wanted to be a mother and after mine left, I promised myself that I would never do that to my child. I want to be a good mother one day."

Roman captured her lips in a sweet, but soft kiss. "I'd like to be a father some day. My only thing is that I just want to be a damn good one. But I want you there by my side."

"Does that mean you want a family of our own?" She asked him when she looked up at him.

He nodded and smiled. "Yeah, I'd like to try after we get married."

Roman and Katrina searched each other's eyes until they found what they were looking for. He took her into his arms again and kissed her passionately as she quickly melted into his arms after fixing herself on his lap. Roman's hands held on to her hips as they kept her close to him. Burying his face in her neck when he sat up, his lips nipped their way across her neck.

A soft moan escaped Katrina's lips as he did and when she felt Roman's hands escape up underneath the shirt of his that she wore. She arched her back and moaned when he reached her breasts and felt his fingers play with her nipples, getting them to become two perfect peaks.

"Roman..." Katrina whimpered softly. She felt the pleasure that was beginning to rise in his shorts. He took off her shirt and admired the view that was in front of him at the moment. Picking her up, he carried her upstairs to the bedroom and laid her down in bed, taking her panties off afterwards.

Katrina felt his hand rest inbetween her thighs and a moan was ripped from her lips as he fingers dipped into her tight channel. Roman let out a groan of his own and one that was full of pleasure when he began to pump his two fingers in and out of her, feeling her become wet as well as the growing heat inside of her. His free hand wouldn't let go of her breasts as he palmed them, keeping her nipples erect and making the pleasure inside of Katrina rise with every second that passed.

Roman's fingers found a steady pace while his lips devoured hers, covering her soft moans. Feeling when she became soaked and was close to having her moment, Roman pulled out his fingers and chuckled softly when Katrina suddenly looked up at him. He took off his shorts and she quickly saw why he stopped. The erection had started to become unbarerable and Roman had to do something about it.

Quickly getting inbetween her legs, Katrina felt his erection pressing against her center and she bit her lip when she felt him enter her as much as he could. Roman filled her up and began to thrust inside of her. Katrina's fingers dug into his waist when she grabbed it and moaned as he rocked deeply in and out of her.

The sound of Roman's grunts and growls filled the room with Katrina's moans, turning them on even more. Roman's thrusts became even deeper and filled with more desire and urgency as Katrina felt his skin clench under her touch. His hands rested on her hips, feeling them move along with him before they reached her legs. His fingers squeezed into her thighs as they wrapped around his waist.

Roman felt Katrina's walls beginning to clamp down on him and he knew that she was close. He whispered in her ear and not even a few more thrusts in, she found her release around his erection as she moaned his name. Roman wasn't far behind and found himself releasing his cum deep inside of her.

The doorbell rang not to long afterwards and Katrina let out a small giggle when Roman growled against her skin. He quickly put on his shorts and grabbed his wallet to go to the door. Katrina got dressed again and fixed her hair before going back downstairs to the kitchen to meet up with Roman who was getting the food together.

"I'm gonna take a shower later." Katrina whispered. Roman looked up and saw the look in her eyes as she looked at him. He knew what that look meant and kissed her, biting her bottom lip as he pulled away.

"And I'm going with you." He replied.

Katrina grinned and laughed before pecking his lips. "Our sex life isn't going to get boring once we're married is it?"

Roman shook his head. "Nope, not a chance."

**0.0**

Mr. Rodriguez patiently waited in the restaurant and watched as Emily awlked in through the doors and sat across the table from him. He had agreed to meet her here to talk about things. Emily had pleaded with him to give her a chance and even though he hesitated, he decided to go ahead and do so. James wanted to hear what she had to say to him after all this time. After they ordered their food, they stayed quiet until the quietness between them became awkward.

"I just wanted to genuinely apologize for everything that I've done and put you through all those years ago." She told him as she looked into his blue eyes.

James thought for a moment before responding. "I believe you and I forgave you a long time ago. It was the only way that I would be able to really move on. I just want to know why you did what you did, Emily. You told me or let me know that something was wrong so how was I supposed to know?"

Emily nodded, knowing that he was right. She never voiced to him that she wasn't happy, so how did she expect James to do what he could to change that? "I still had resentment towards you for what happened all of those years ago. Our parents forced us to break up and I felt like you didn't fight hard enough to make sure that we stayed together. I was still mad at you for it, even years after it had happened. I played it off like I wasn't because I thought that it may not be fair to you to keep punishing you for something that happened so long ago."

"Telling me could've helped though." Said James.

"I know, James and I'm sorry." She replied. "But I couldn't get myself together to say anything. After moving here to Florida...I just became more unhappy. As crappy as it may sound, I felt lonely. I didn't know how to ask for more attention and I resented you even more. I knew I was being selfish because we were here for the girls so that they could go to school. But I couldn't help it."

They recieved their food and waited until they had privacy again before resuming their conversation.

"What blows my mind is that, not once, did you ever tell me." Said James. "After you filed for divorce, I felt stupid for not noticing that anything was wrong. But I was more upset because you never said anything. If only you would have talked to me about it, we could've worked something out so that you wouldn't have had to feel as if a divorce was an option, Emily. We could have avoided everything that happened as a result. The girls would cry because they wanted their mother. What the hell was I supposed to tell them?"

Emily didn't know what else to say to him, other than another apology. Once they were halfway through with their food, Emily thought of Katrina and Anna.

"How are the girls, by the way?" She asked him.

James smiled. "They're doing great. Anna got married last month and Katrina's getting married next month."

Emily's heart broke, knowing that she missed out on her eldest daughter's wedding. It had always meant a lot to her, hoping that she would be around for their big days.

"Is there still time for me to make it to Katrina's wedding?" She asked.

James thought for a moment. "I highley doubt it. Invitations were sent out a while ago and everything is already set for the amount of people that are coming. Besides, you would have to talk to Katrina and her fiancee about that and see if they would be willing to work something out for one more person."

"You know...they really turned out just like you." Said Emily. "Especially Katrina. They're both really strong women."

"And intelligent." Added James. "They got a good head on their shoulders. I'm glad I was able to do a good job with them."

**A/N: After not seeing her mother or hearing from her for the last seven months, do you think that Katrina would allow her mother to come to the wedding or will she put her foot down and ban her, one month prior to her big day with Roman? **

**On a side note, on my youtube page, I do put up videos that I make of Roman Reigns, kinda of like tribute videos. For anyone who would like to take a look at them, the link to my youtube page is on my fanfic profile as well as posted below: **

channel/UCLCisgcH396xvCEipwjtNbQ


	17. Chapter 17

**Thank you to Neisha03Ty, corbettluv and justkimmy for reviewing :) **

"So Mom wants to come to the wedding?" Asked Katrina as she spoke with her dad in her grandparents house. Roman was standing next to her with his arms crossed and he wasn't looking to pleased. It's been a few days since James and Emily had talked and ever since Katrina and Roman decided that they wanted to have a family of their own, they've been pretty occupied between work and pleasure, even though they said that they'd wait until after they were married. Therefore, it had been a bit difficult to get a hold of either of them until last night, when they finally answered the phone.

Her father nodded. "That's what she was asking. I told her that it was highly doubted because of how late it is to RSVP for the wedding with everything being done. I also told her that she would have to talk to you and Roman about it as well. I can't make the decisions for you two when it comes to the wedding."

Katrina stayed quiet for a moment. "I'm not inviting her to the wedding."

"Thank goodness." Said Roman a little too loudly and a little too quickly. Everyone looked at him and Katrina arched her eyebrow in curiosity. "I'm sorry. But everything goes perfectly fine without her around. As soon as she does, Katrina stresses herself out about it and she isn't happy. With all due respect because I know she's still Katrina and Anna's mother, but I think she's better off just not being at the wedding."

Katrina leaned against him and felt Roman relax a bit when she did. He rested his hands on her waist and his chin on her shoulder.

"Sweetheart, I don't want you to not invite your mother and then resent her for missing your wedding." Said her father. "Are you sure that's something that you want to do?"

She thought for a moment. "She's missed out on so many things in our lives over the past seven years. Mom missed out on Anna's big day, so what's one more thing that mom misses, going to do to me? Besides, it's too late to try to fit anyone else into the guest list, dad. Everything's been set already and it's too much work trying to change it now because of one person. Mom shouldn't have gone AWOL for the last seven months."

James sighed and nodded, knowing that it was going to be tough to get Katrina to budge, especially when it's something in which she digs her heels into the ground for. They finished desert and ended the night on a good note after talking and much needed laughter. Their minds were taken off of the whole Emily thing for a while.

Roman was quiet on the ride back home and Katrina wondered why. She put it off at first as maybe him being tired or focusing on driving. But when they both got into the shower and Roman was still the same, she began to worry.

"Are you okay?" Katrina asked him softly as he stood in his arms, under the running water.

He nodded and placed soft kisses on her neck. Katrina leaned her head to the side to give him more access.

"I've been thinking a lot about our little family." He whispered in her ear. Katrina looked up into Roman's eyes and saw a softer and sensitive side to him that she hasn't seen before. He thought for a moment before saying anything else. "I just...I really want to be a father. I always have and ever since the whole thing happened with Seth and you know who, I thought that it would make me not want it anymore. But I still do."

Katrina smiled softly at him as she laid against the wall, with Roman still holding her in his arms. "You're going to be an amazing dad, Roman. I'm sure of that."

She played with Roman's black hair as rested his forehead against hers. "I think I just really want to make sure it happens this time around."

Katrina laughed softly as Roman chuckled deeply at what he had just said. "Well, you've been making sure of that just fine over the last few days."

Roman smiled at Katrina before pecking her lips. He looked deeply into her blue eyes and it's as if the world stopped around him. Roman could get lost in her eyes and not realize that he wasn't breathing. "I love you, Katrina."

"I love you, too." She replied softly and with a smile. "Wanna keep trying to have one?"

Roman looked at her before responding. "You really want to keep trying?"

"Yes, I do." Katrina replied. "Besides, I really like the trying part." She added as her fingers traced down his abs.

His eyes filled with lust and desire as she did. Roman knew then that he would spend the entire night making love to this woman. Those were the nights that Katrina loved because on those nights, he would take his time and make sure that she was taken care of on a physical and pleasurable level even more than what he usually did. Roman took extra care of her and made sure that she enjoyed every single moment of their love making.

_**The big day...**_

"Did you ever think you'd see the day where I'd be getting married?" Asked Roman to Dean who was his best man at the wedding.

Dean thought for a moment and shook his head. "After Janelle, I have to admit that I never see this day. But I'm happy for you, though. You found the one for you _and _you're tightly wrapped around her finger."

Roman smiled at the thought of Katrina. His world revolved around her and he truly couldn't see a day go by for the rest of his life without her in it. He had his hair pulled back into a neat bun and already in his suit, all he was waiting for was the signal to let them know that it was time. When the signal finally came, Roman along with Dean, and his twin cousins, Jimmy and Jey, went downstairs and made their way to the alter along with the bridesmaids, Anna being the maid of honor.

There was a few moments that had passed and Roman began to grow more nervous. When the music started playing, he saw Katrina walking down the aisle with her father right by her side a few seconds later. Roman's breath caught in his throat without him realizing when he saw her.

Katrina was breathtakingly beautiful in a white sweetheart neckline dress that reached the floor. The train dragged behing a few inches as pearls and diamonds lined the dress in just the right amount so that it wouldn't be overwhelming. Her veil was placed neatly on top of her chestnut brown hair that was cascading down her back in curls and her father was right by her side.

"Who gives this woman away today?" Asked the priest when they reached the alter and the music stopped.

"I do." Replied James.

He turned to Katrina and gave her a long hug. She began to feel a lump in her throat as she tightly held on to her father. Pulling away, she smiled at him and watched him sit down in the front row. Katrina looked up to see Roman's eyes on her and saw a look in his eyes that she had only seen a handful of times. She couldn't explain what it was, but she loved it.

"We are gathered here today to join this man and this woman in holy matrimony." Said the Priest. "Is there anyone here who would object in seeing these be joined today, speak now or forever hold your peace."

There was a silence that invaded the place and Katrina and Roman were relieved when nobody objected. The priest then continued.

"Matrimony is a sacred thing. It can mean something different for every couple and could be for very different reasons. But the most important thing is that you marry for the right reasons, the most important one being love."

He asked them to join hands and Katrina became more nervous than what she was before walking down the aisle. This was it, she was finally getting married and to someone that she considered her best friend and the guy that she loved.

"When we met, I didn't know that we would be where we are right now at this very moment." Said Roman. "What I _did _know was that you were someone special and that I would want you in my life for a very long time to come. Now I look into your eyes and I see my world standing right in front of me. Everything that I ever want is right in front of me. My present and future is you. All of me loves all of you. You're perfect for me Katrina, and I'll give you all of me until the day I'm no longer on this earth to do so."

Tears brimmed the edge of Katrina's eyes and threatened to fall. Her heart swelled with happiness and she almost couldn't contain herself.

"Some would look at how long it has been between when our relationship first began and now and say that it may have been a bit too quick." She told Roman. "I'll just simply reply to them that when you know, you just know. What _I _know is that I'm going to spend the rest of my life with the man of my dreams. You're like my best friend and I could always come to you for everything. I always thought that if marriage was sever to be in my cards, it would be later on in life. I've seen what it's like for two people to go through divorce and I've seen the pain that comes along with it. But you've shown me that it's okay to love and that two people can really make it work if it's something that they truly want. Roman, you're my everything and I can't imagine spending the rest of my life without you in it."

When they were given the rings, they were asked to repeat after the priest. Roman gently held Katrina's hand and placed a band covered with diamonds on her slender, well manicured finger.

"I take this woman, to be my lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, for richer or for poorer, for as long as we both shall live."

Katrina then took a platinum band and placed in on Roman's finger. "I take this man to be my lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, for richer or for poorer, for as long as we both shall live."

"With the power vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride." Said the priest.

Roman and Katrina both smiled happily at each other as he took her into his arms and gave her the sweetest kiss that he's ever given her. Katrina melted in his arms and into his kiss before they seperated after remembering where they were.

_**A few hours later...**_

"So where are we going for our honeymoon?" Asked Katrina.

Roman had been keeping it a surprise from her ever since they first began wanting to plan it. He wanted to pick the perfect place for them and all he had told Katrina was to get a passport and to pack for two weeks.

"You'll see when we get there." Was all that Roman told Katrina every time she asked. She pouted, growing impatient. Roman chuckled and captured her lips for a soft kiss before grabbing her hand and quickly going into the airport with her after they said their goodbyes to their family and friends.

On the plane, he looked over after about half an hour after takeoff to see her sleeping. Katrina had taken the window seat, but was in deep sleep and slightly leaning against Roman. He softly kissed her forehead and fell asleep a few minutes later after smiling as he watched her sleep.

When Roman woke up, he looked out the window to see that they were arriving at their destination. Gently waking Katrina up, she blinked a few times and stared up at him before looking out the window.

"Welcome to Italy." Roman softly whispered in her ear.

Katrina gasped and looked up at him. "Our honeymoon is in Italy?"

"Yup, and we'll be here for the next two weeks." He responded to her.

He couldn't help but softly chuckle when he saw the excitement in her blue eyes befoer she looked back out the window. It wasn't long before they got to the airport and landed. When they got out of the airplane, she pulled Roman close to her and gave him a kiss. Roman's arms automatically wrapped around her and responded to her kiss.

"Come on, Mrs. Reigns." He whispered against her lips. "We should get to the hotel. It's going to be a long night."

Katrina smiled up at him. "I'm in love with that name."

Roman gave her a smile of his own. "Good because I love saying it."

**A/N: Katrina and Roman are finally married AND their honeymoon is going to be in Italy! I want your opinion: Do you think Katrina made the right decision on not inviting her mother to the wedding after all or do you think that she'll eventually regret it later on? Let me know what you think of that and the chapter! **


	18. Chapter 18

**Thank you Alexandria M, Neisha03Ty, justkimmy, corbettluv and DeMarie426 for reviewing :) **

It's been two months since Katrina and Roman returned from their honeymoon in Italy. They were enjoying their life as newlyweds as they returned to their everyday life. Roman's parents had recently moved from Pensacola and Roman's been busy showing them around and making sure that they accustomed to things.

"How's married life treating you?" Asked Roman's father. He was having lunch with his parents and looked at the time on his phone. He smiled knowing that Katrina would be home from work in a few hours. It was the weekend and even though he always had the weekend off, that doesn't mean that Katrina will always be that lucky to have the same days off.

Roman smiled. "It's been going amazing. We still have our disagreements, but it's like it was before we got married. I can't help but smile everytime I get to introduce her as my wife."

"Katrina has you wrapped around her finger." Said his mother, with a smile on her face.

"That's exactly what Dean said." Roman replied with a chuckle. "But she's my baby and I love her."

His mother smiled. "Speaking of baby, when are you and Katrina going to give us some grandchildren?"

"Mom." Said Roman.

"What?" She asked. "Did you really think that you were going to get married and we weren't going to eventually ask when we would have grandchildren from you?"

Roman smiled knowing that it was true, knowing his mother. "Well, when it happens, we'll let you know."

The semester was almost over and they were both looking forward to spending the summer together. Even though Katrina would have to keep working throughout the summer, it meant more time together regardless because of the freetime that Roman would have.

Meanwhile, Katrina was out at lunch and she saw her mother. Emily waved at her with a small smile. Katrina invited her to her table and it was a bit awkward before Emily began to speak.

"Congratulations on getting married." She told her daughter.

Katrina smiled. "Thanks. I love being married."

"Any kids in the near future?" Asked her mother.

"We're working on it." Katrina replied. "But we also want to make sure we enjoy it being just the two of us before we add a baby into the mix and we want to make sure that we save up a little bit more money. Now that I'm working full-time, it'll be a bit easier to do so."

It got quiet again as Katrina ate her food and checked on her phone. "I forgive you, for what happened." Katrina looked up and saw a confused look on her face. "Seven years ago? I can't be mad at you forever, you know."

Emily smiled and relaxed a bit when she heard that her daughter had finally forgiven her for what had happened. Maybe this could be the start of the two of them working on their relationship and rebuilding it. Emily knew that it wouldn't be exactly how it was before she left, but she knew that it could improve from what it was now.

"I have to start heading back to work, but maybe we can talk again sometime." Said Katrina as she got her things together.

Emily got up with Katrina and walked with her daughter to her car. "That sounds good. I would love that. Maybe we can talk on the phone?"

Katrina nodded and gave her mother her phone number. "If I don't reply right away, don't worry. It may be because I'm working, depending on the time you text or call. But if there's any chance for a relationship between you and I, than this whole coming and going in and out of our lives has to stop. I'm giving you a chance here, mom. Do NOT mess this up because if you do, there will not be another one."

"That's fine." Emily replied. Just as Katrina was about to grab her keys to get into her car, sharp pain began to shoot throughout her body. Katrina grabbed at her stomach, seeing as that's where it was coming from. "Katrina, what's wrong?" Asked her mother in a concerned tone.

"I'm fine." She replied. "It's just some pain. Maybe it's getting to that time of the month."

"No, you're not fine. You're clearly in pain." Said Emily. "What's that on your pants?"

Katrina looked down and saw something going down the side of her dark grey pants. She touched it and gasped when she saw blood.

"Oh my God." Whispered Katrina in disbelief.

Emily gasped in shock and called 911 for an ambulance. Katrina dropped her purse and leaned against her car while pain continued to shoot through her body. She began to cry, not knowing what was going on and beginning to get scared. After her mother made the call for an ambulance, it didn't take long before they arrived. Emily got in the back with her and tried to calm her down, but Katrina continued to cry.

"I'm so scared." Katrina managed to get out in between sobs. "What's going on?"

_**Three hours later...**_

Roman's phone began to ring and he answered when he saw that it was Katrina's father. He answered the phone, thinking nothing of it and turned the volume on the television down a bit.

"You need to come to the hospital." Said James immediately when he heard Roman's voice.

"Why, what's wrong?" He asked, curiously as he sat up straight on the couch. His parents grew curious as well, seeing the look on their son's face.

"It's Katrina." James quickly replied. Roman's heart dropped at the thought of something being terribly wrong with her. "Something happened, she's here in the emergency room and they're not telling me anything right now."

Roman quickly turned the television off and signaled for his parents to come along while still being on the phone with his father-in-law. Grabbing his keys and his wallet, he continued to talk on the phone while he and his parents made their way to his black SUV Tahoe. After getting the name of the hospital and Roman made a beeline to the emergency room, not caring if he got stopped by the police for speeding.

After parking the car, he ended up sprinting to the emergency room and through the doors. His parents followed closely behind as he looked for Katrina's side of the family. When he saw her father, he ran to him and started asking him questions.

"Roman!" James exclaimed after hearing one question right after the other. "I don't know. They're not telling me anything and I'm her father. Anna wasn't able to get out of work early, so she'll be here after she gets out. My parents are on their way."

James greeted Roman's parents as he began to pace back and forth. After about an hour of waiting, he quickly walked down the hall and saw Katrina being taken to a room in a bed.

"Katrina!" Roman yelled through the hallway. As he began trying to reach her, a few doctors and nurses tried to stop him as his parents and James walked up behind him. "Katrina!"

"Sir, you need to lower your voice." Said one of the doctors.

Roman's grey eyes snapped to them and felt his temper beginning to go off. "Like hell, I will. That's my wife! I deserve to know what's wrong with my wife!"

One of the doctors took him aside after telling the others that it was okay. After James told the doctor who he was, the doctor allowed him to stay when they went inside of the room. Katrina immediately tried to sit up to greet the two men.

"Your wife came in with abdominal pain and bleeding." Said the doctor. "After doing much testing, I'm saddened to announce that Mrs. Reigns...you had a miscarriage."

Their faces dropped when they heard the news. A miscarriage which had to mean that she had to be pregnant.

"What do you mean a miscarriage?" Asked Katrina. "I wasn't even pregnant!"

"The tests show that you were three weeks pregnant." Replied the doctor. "Are your menstrual cycles irregular or have you noticed if you've been late?"

"Does it matter?" Asked Roman. "Katrina hasn't shown any signs of being pregnant. She hasn't been sick or anything. Are you sure it was a miscarriage?"

The doctor nodded. "I'm sorry. I've asked for the tests to be run three times to make sure of the results. It was a miscarriage, I'm really sorry."

After a few more minutes, the doctor walked out of the room, closing the door behind him. Katrina and Roman were in complete shock as she began to cry. Roman held on to her tightly as she shook while sobbing. Tears began to fill his eyes as he buried his face in her hair.

"Roman, I'm so sorry." Katrina managed to say in between sobs.

He looked into her eyes. "Sorry for what, baby?"

"I didn't know I was pregnant." She sobbed out. "I'm so sorry. I should have been more careful and not allow myself to get stressed out at work."

"Baby, look at me." Roman told her while when he cupped Katrina's face to make her look up at him. "It's not your fault, Katrina. We didn't know you were pregnant."

She sobbed even more. "I lost our baby. Our _baby, _Roman."

Roman felt his tears streaming down his face. "Sweetheart, it's not your fault. I promise you, it's not. We didn't know, Katrina."

"I just know how much you've been wanting a baby and so have I." Katrina replied. "I've wanted a baby so much and to be able to give you one and I lost the baby when I finally was pregnant."

James wiped his face to clear it of the tears that fell out of his eyes as if it was a waterfall. "Princess, it's going to be okay. We'll get through this together, all of us."

It broke his heart, seeing how devasted his daughter was and knowing that he couldn't do much about it other than be there for her as support. It saddened James to see the tears on Roman's face. He knew that Roman wasn't the type of guy to show much emotion, so for him to be crying his eyes out at this moment, James knew that he was hurting.

_**That night...**_

It had taken a while, but Katrina was finally able to calm down enough to get some sleep. The doctors were going to keep her over night to make sure that she was okay before sending her home. Katrina was going to take a few days off from work to get herself together before going back. It was for the best, seeing as how this was a tragedy for the family. It was the loss of a life before it even came unto this earth and take it's first breath.

Roman stayed by her side the entire time. Even when visiting hours were over, he still lingered around to make sure that Katrina was okay. She had given him her car keys and with that, Roman went to go pick up her car and drive it back home. He was there for her, hand and foot making sure that she had everything that she needed even when she got sent home from the hospital.

Afterwards, Roman would go find a place to be by himself. Every single time someone went to check on him, they were stopped in their tracks when they saw him sitting on the floor in the corner, with his head in his lap and his hair in a mess. You could hear him just sobbing and it was those kind of sobs that were gut wrenching and made your stomach sore after you were done. One couldn't help but feel bad for him. Roman surprised himself with how much emotion he had pouring out of him.

He was always the one to keep to himself and never let his feelings show. Roman thought that being strong meant never losing your self control. But this situation was different. In this situation, it was no longer about himself. This was his wife who was the one that had to physically go through it and he couldn't do anything to take that away to prevent Katrina from going through it. She's his everything and he was going to stand by her side through it all.

_**Two weeks later...**_

Katrina had just gotten home from work and Roman was in the kitchen getting dinner ready for the night. She walked up quietly behind him and covered his eyes gently. Roman froze and slowly turned around to see his wife standing behind him.

His smile met hers as he leaned down to greet her with a soft, but lingering kiss. "Hey beautiful." Roman said as he rested his forehead against hers.

Katrina blushed slightly and grinned. "I missed you today."

"I've missed you, too." He replied softly as his hands moved to rest on her waist. "How are you feeling today?"

"I'm okay." She replied. "I'm better than I was yesterday, which I'm taking as a good sign. How are _you_?"

Roman nodded. "The same. Just taking it one day at a time. Maybe this wasn't the right timing for us to have a little one."

Katrina frowned, but nodded knowing that it was true. Roman was right and she couldn't argue with him on that. "I just hope it happens one day. I'd like to have one."

"You already know that I would _love _having one." Roman replied. "We just have to take to it slow. I don't want you to feel forced into having a baby because of how much I want one. I don't want to risk another pregnancy."

"Roman, you wanting a child just as much as I do isn't the reason why I had the miscarriage." Said Katrina, trying to soothe him. "It was just a culmination of stress and it's like you said, maybe this just wasn't the right time to have a baby. We just have to optimistic about this. Whenever I do get pregnant though, this whole situation will definitely make me a lot more greateful and it'll make me cherish it a lot more than what I probably would have."

They both smiled and shared a few more kisses. Roman looked into his wife's eyes with desire. Katrina was still the same beautiful woman that he fell in love with and married. That would never change and neither would the way he looked at her every single day nor the way he felt.

They were both in a depressed state. Katrina and Roman have never felt this low in their life on an emotional level and the reason for that was clearly understandable to everyone that knew. They now, in a way, had an understanding for those that have lost their child. Even though they didn't know that Katrina was pregnant until the day of the miscarriage, it's still a life that was lost. Even though it, emotionally, it was getting a little easier, they were still mourning the loss.

**A/N: Just as things seemed to begin to look up for Katrina and her mother, Katrina and Roman suddenly suffer a tragic loss. Will things begin to look forward for them again, or will things only get worse? **


	19. Chapter 19

**Thank you Neisha03Ty, justkimmy, Slytherin Studios and corbettluv for reviewing :) **

"How you holding up lately?" Asked Dean as he met his brother for lunch. It had been a while since Roman and Dean hung out and it was long overdue.

"We're doing a lot better." Said Roman. "We still have our moments, but we're getting there. It's just been really difficult. When Katrina has her moments, she can get really depressed and she puts up these walls and it becomes difficult to get to her."

Dean nodded as he began to eat his burger after eating a few of his fries that he poured ketchup all over. "It's hard on both of you with the loss, but it may be harder for her. Everybody deals with things differently, even if it's in a similar way there's going to be something different in the way that it's handled. It's been over a month now, but that doesn't mean that it's forgotten about."

"I know." Roman replied softly. "With training for the upcoming football season in full swing, it's helping me keep my mind off of the miscarriage. But not a day goes by where I don't think about what could have been, had we not lost the baby. A part of me blames myself because I've been wanting a child of my own for so long. I don't want to risk something like that again."

"Do you still want to be a father?" Asked Dean in a serious tone.

Roman nodded wtihout hesitation. "Absolutely. I'm just so scared because we didn't know that she was pregnant the last time. You hear these stories of women who experience these symptoms when they're pregnant, and Katrina didn't experience anything. I don't know if it was because she was still early in the pregnancy or what, but she had nothing. I don't want us to go as long as we did or even longer without knowing that she's pregnant and we suffer another miscarriage. That terrifies me."

Dean looked at his best friend and saw the fear and pain that Roman had mentioned when talking about the loss. It had taken an emotional toll on Roman and Dean could tell that it had. His grey eyes that were always so strong and filled with happiness were now filled with sadness. Roman had lost a lot of sleep as did Katrina as the loss of a baby took it's toll as it ran it's course on them. Dean was starting to wonder if it was beginning to put a strain on their marriage because of the increase in fights between them.

"It's hard because there's this mentality that her and I have where we wonder why we have to use condoms when we're married." Added Roman. "So we don't use anything when we're intimate and if she's not taking her birth control, which she's not because we both decided to not use any methods of birth control once we got married...there's so much that it causes to run through my mind."

"Like if it's ever going to happen, being a father?" Dean asked quietly.

Roman's eyes became wet with tears at the thought of not being able to have kids of his own. It would devastate Roman, but he quickly shook the thought out of his mind. "If that were to ever happen, not being able to have kids of our own, then Katrina and I will deal with when it happens. But for now, we're just trying to be positive."

He didn't want to think the worst but it was something that Roman thought about every now and then. Roman didn't want to share that thought with Katrina for fear that it would make her feel worse about the situation and for fear that she may think that the only way to fix it is by getting pregnant.

"You should talk to Katrina." Said Dean, bringing him out of his thoughts.

"I don't want to start another fight." Roman replied.

Dean drank some of his soda. "The two of you need to find a way to get it out and without fighting. This whole keeping it in thing to not end up in an argument is going to make things worse. You and Katrina love each other to much to allow your marriage to end because of this. You two are stronger than that. Talk it out."

Roman knew that he was right. They couldn't keep doing this and it would ruin them if they continued to do so. He didn't want another relationship to go down in drains. Roman just wouldn't know what to do with himself if he were to ever lose Katrina. She's the love of his life and if anybody thought that Roman was devastated now over the miscarriage, he would be far worse if he lost his wife.

"Listen, man..." Stated Dean. "The big man puts us in situations that He knows we'll be able to handle."

Roman looked at him curiously, knowing that Dean was never the kind of guy to talk like that to anybody. "Okay, where's my brother and what have you done to him?"

His best friend smiled and looked down to hide the big grin that was now forming on his face. "Remember that girl I met right around the time that you and Katrina started talking?"

He nodded, remembering. "Renee?"

"Yeah." Dean replied. "We're dating now, for a while now."

Roman smiled and congratulated him. "It's about damn time. You've liked for forever it seems."

Dean chuckled softly and Roman was genuinly happy for him. He could see how happy this relationship with Renee was making him and he wished them the best of luck.

_**Meanwhile...**_

"Any updates on the baby thing?" Asked Emily as she went to lunch with Katrina and Anna.

Katrina shook her head. "We're not trying to have one right now, but we're not doing anything to prevent it from happening either."

"So you're not on birth control anymore?" Asked Anna.

"I stopped taking it when we got married." She replied. "That and him not using condoms are things that him and I have decided on together."

They went to Sephora and Katrina went to go look at some perfumes while Anna and Emily went to go look at some makeup. When they all met back in the middle of the store, Katrina and Anna stayed closed by together.

"Are you physically able to have another child though right now if you wanted to?" Asked Emily.

Katrina thought for a bit before responding. "We can start trying again if we'd like. My doctor told me that I have to wait at least one cycle before trying again. It's been almost two months but that's something that Roman and I would have to discuss."

Katrina made a face and breathed in and out deeply when the aroma of food came around. The smell would have just made her mouth water with how good it smelled, but today it just made her more sick than what she already was.

"You okay?" Asked Anna.

Katrina nodded. "I think it's just have that stomach virus that's going around. I feel so nauseus today and that smell just makes me want to throw up again."

"And some sleep." Said Emily. "You look really tired."

"I know." Katrina replied softly. She hasn't told anybody about that problems that are arising between her and Roman. Ever since the miscarriage, they've been fighting a lot more and haven't been getting much sleep. She had also been extra emotional lately and she wasn't sure why. There were times when her emotions were so out of whack, that she felt like crying for no reason. At times it was simply because she didn't want to be away from Roman which had never happened before. She wanted him right by her side no matter what because she didn't want him out of her sight. She felt a bit more sensitive than usual and she wanted to get a hold of herself. Katrina wanted to be able to take care of what was going on with Roman on her own without the input of anybody else.

After getting home, Katrina was just ready to lay down in bed and take a much needed nap. When Roman got home, he saw his wife sleeping and smiled as he watched. The way strands of her hair slightly fell in her face as she slowly breathed in and out, the peacaefulness that washed over her as she slept. Roman just loved to watch the scene that was in front of him.

Taking a quick shower, he quickly got dressed and began making dinner. With her being sick and not being able to keep much down lately, he knew exactly what to make for her. When dinner was ready, he walked into the room and gently laying down next to her in bed facing her, Katrina must have felt it and knew that it was him because she snuggled closer to Roman. An arm circled around Katrina's waist and kept her there, close to him. Roman placed soft kisses on her cheek and on her head before she began to stir. Nuzzling his chest, she woke up and rubbed her eyes before blinking a few times at him.

"You're home." Katrina said softly with a smile and a sleepy voice.

Roman smiled before capturing her lips for a soft kiss. After talking for a few minutes, they laid in bed together and they both felt comfort in each other's arms. "I made you dinner."

"It smells really good." She replied. "Is that pasta?"

He nodded. "And with your favorite sauce and with chicken. I thought that with you being a bit sick and that being the one of the very few things that you can still eat withotu getting more sick, I'd make you some."

She smiled and pecked his lips. "I love you."

"I love you, too beautiful." Roman replied with a peck of his own.

Roman helped her up and held her hand as they walked to the kitchen. Katrina took in the aroma of the food and actually didn't feel like running back up to the bathroom for once. He held the seat out for her and helped her sit down as she looked at the food that was in front of her. Her mouth watered and her stomach growled from not eating much today.

"I'm sorry for how I've been acting lately." Said Roman while they ate. "Things have just been so crazy since it all happened and I don't know what other way to deal with it."

Katrina stayed quiet for a moment as she ate her food. "I'm sorry, too. I think that it's been extremely difficult on both of us. I've always thought that losing my mom was bad enough, but losing our baby...it was more than I could bare. We didn't even get to enjoy being pregnant or bring it into this world."

She started to tear up and Roman wasn't to far behind on that. Katrina had never seen him cry, but she has definitely heard the sounds of crying coming from Roman whenever he would lock himself in the bathroom.

"A part of me think it's my fault because of how bad I want to be a father." Roman admitted softly. Tears began to stream down his face as he sniffled. He cleared his throat, but he just couldn't seem to stop the tears from falling. "I don't want you to resent me, Katrina or to even hate me."

"Roman, it's not your fault." Said Katrina as she leaned over and cupped his face in her hands. "I feel like it's mine for not being careful with myself, regardless of whether I was pregnant or not."

She kissed his cheek and he leaned into her lips. "It's nobody's fault. I don't wish something like that upon anybody though. It doesn't matter how I feel about them, even if it's my enemy. Nobody deserves to feel that kind of pain."

Katrina looked at her husband and bit her lip. "I want us to be okay again like we were before it happened. I like those little moments since then because it's a lot sweeter and it means a lot more now."

Roman leaned over and kissed Katrina softly. "That's my promise to you that we'll make it through this."

She smiled up at him. "Can you show me again?"

He chuckled softly and pressesd his lips against her for another soft kiss. Their kiss deepened and Roman got Katrina to sit on his lap before she pulled away. "We won't be able to stop if we keep on."

Roman looked up into her eyes. "Who said I wanted to stop?"

Katrina looked into her husband's grey eyes and melted. She knew the look in his eyes and he wanted her. They were cloudy with lust and desire and it drove her crazy, in a good way. Leaning down slightly, they shared a few more kisses before leaving everything the way it was in the kitchen.

He carried her into the living room and laid her down on the couch. His shirt came over his head, exposing the chest down. Roman's perfectly chiseled body would make any female around here look twice at him. Katrina found herself back on his lap when he sat down and their lips were back together.

She moaned softly and quietly feeling his hands going up underneath her shirt. Roman's skin moved underneath her hands as it roamed around before he took off her shirt and tossed it aside. His lips made their way down her neck to her breasts, which were being held together by her black laced bra. Roman's fingers unhooked them and watched as they slid down her arms and made their way to the floor.

Katrina felt pleasure rising against her and heard a low groan from Roman when she pressed against it. Undoing his belt, their lips met once again while Roman's hands became busy once again, when they began to palm her breasts even when her nipples hardened against them. She arched her back and moaned against his lips as her hands made their way into his jeans. Roman growled in her ear as her hands made him more erect than what he already was. It continued like that until he laid her on her back again to get her out of her jeans.

Roman slightly nipped at her thighs, making Katrina whimper with anticipation. Deciding to leave that for later on in the night when his erection started to become painfully unbearable, he got out of his pants and got her back into his lap. He groaned when he felt Katrina's channel take him in, feeling like heaven when it did.

As her hips moved up and down, he carefully watched held on to her waist. Her sweet moans filled the living room along with his groans and grunts when he began to thrust into her everytime she moved down. One of Roman's hands began to palm her breasts again while the other continued to hold on to her waist.

Katrina found pleasure with Roman being buried deep inside of her and held on to him tightly, digging her nails into his shoulders. Heat began to rise between them and Roman knew that she was close. He began to thumb her clit and saw as Katrina leaned her head back and her hips lose a bit of control.

"You're close, baby?" He asked with a husky voice. Not even a minute later, she was coating his member with her warm release. A few thrusts later and Roman was riding out his wave of climax as he came deep inside of her. She collapsed on top of him as she tried to catch her breath. Roman dug his face in her neck and did the same. His warm breath tickling her hot skin as he held her tightly. "We're not done yet, by the way."

She smiled knowing what it meant and knowing that they would be up for pretty much the entire night. Katrina didn't mind though, and she never did.

**A/N: Dean has a new girlfriend and he's seeing his relationship blossom while seeing his best friend and brother being torn apart by a tragedy. As Roman and Katrina try to begin to make things right between them again after weeks of fighting, will a blessing finally come their way? Do you think that Katrina will ever be able to bear children? **


	20. Chapter 20

**Thank you to Neisha03Ty, Slytherin Studios, corbettluv and DeeMarie426 for reviewing :) **

It's been a little over four weeks into the new semester and Roman has been hard at work. He only has three classes this semester to teach, but that gives him a little bit more time to work with the football team. Things between him and Katrina have gotten a lot better since that night when they began to work on their relationship. They talk things out a lot more than what they used to which has helped a lot.

The guys on the team have started to light up on Roman when they found out that their coach had gotten married. With Roman being as private as he is, they didn't even know that he was in a relationship with someone, but they were happy for him nonetheless.

"Returning guys!" Roman exclaimed at practice. "There is no reason for you to be having any trouble with these drills. We go over them every week! Why are you having trouble today?"

"It's been a long day for some of us, Coach." Said one of the players.

Roman shook his head. "I've been having a long _week, _now get it together!"

After practice was finally over, Roman and the assistant coach went over a few things before he took a shower and got ready to leave. With his car being in the shop because of a problem with one of the tires, Katrina was picking him up today. She was already outside waiting for him when he walked out. Katrina quickly ran into his arms and they shared a long kiss as he picked her up and spun her around.

"Hi to you, too." Said Roman with a big grin on his face as his wife stayed in his arms.

She gave him a grin of her own. "I really missed you."

"I've missed you, too." Roman replied capturing her lips for a kiss. "I love you."

"I love you, too." Katrina replied with a smile.

They went to WalMart to buy a few things for the weekend and when they got into the place, Katrina made a stop to the bathroom. Roman waited a few minutes for her and looked around as he did. When she came out, he noticed that she walked around a bit slowly as they made their way back to the front of the store to grab a shopping cart.

"You okay, Sweetheart?" Asked Roman after a few minutes of silence.

Katrina took a while before responding in a whisper. "Can we go look for a pregnancy test before we leave?"

He quickly looked at her and watched as she gently grabbed on to his arm. "A pregnancy test?"

"Roman...I'm late." Katrina told her husband in a soft voice. When he realized what she had meant, he understood why her behavior had slightly changed. "When I went to the bathroom, I saw that it hadn't come yet. Besides, my emotions are going crazy and I don't know why. Sometimes the smell of food just makes me want to throw up and it's been going on for to long for me to blame it on a stomach virus."

"How late are you?" He asked her.

Katrina thought for a bit as they kept walking around. "Over a month. I've never missed a cycle before, no matter how it was the previous month other than the last time where I was almost a month late but I didn't realize it until it was too late. I need to make sure what's going on. It's the only way that I can calm my nerves a bit on this."

"We'll look for one before we leave." Roman told her softly and kissed her temple while circling her waist. Katrina relaxed into his arms and rested her head on his shoulder. They both became nervous and didn't know what to think. They knew that it was possible that this could happen because they never used protection when they were intimate since becoming pregnant and they never tried to prevent it even though they knew in the back of their mind that they weren't really trying to have a baby at the moment.

When they got home, they made some dinner while Katrina talked to Anna on the phone as she looked something up on her laptop. Roman smiled knowing how close they were and how much they loved to keep in contact. When they hung up, Katrina turned her attention back to Roman.

"It says the best time to check is in the morning." Said Katrina, obviously refering to the pregnancy test. "I'll check tomorrow morning when I wake up."

Katrina was nervous about it. After what happened the last time, she didn't know how or if she would be able to handle something like that again if it were to happen once more. If she really was pregnant, they would both be ecstatic.

_**The next day...**_

Katrina woke up before Roman did and felt knots in her stomach. Today was the day that she would take a pregnancy test to see what the results were. Closing the door to the bathroom, Katrina read the instructions that came with the test, she brushed her teeth and followed them. It began to feel hot and so she opened the door and saw Roman sitting up in bed, waiting eagerly.

Roman went into the bathroom and brushed his teeth as well while they both waited for the time to come to check the results. All they did was just be in each other's arms while they waited because they couldn't get themselves to do anything else.

The alarm rang indicating that time was up and they both looked at each other. Katrina nervously went up to the counter and picked up the stick. After looking at the instructions again, she looked back at the stick that she held in her hands and couldn't believe what she was reading.

"Roman." Katrina said as she began to cry. He quickly walked up to her and looked at the test when she showed it to him. Her breath caught in her throat when he saw the look on his face after seeing what the results had said. He hugged her tightly and he wouldn't let her go. They both couldn't believe the results that they had just finished seeing.

_**Two weeks later...**_

Katrina and Roman all met up with their families in their favorite restaurant. They wanted to share something important that would affect all of them, mainly the married couple. After they all recieved their food, Roman and Katrina cleared their throats and got their attention.

"There's something that we would like to share with everyone." Said Roman. "It's why we called all of you to join us tonight. Katrina and I have been through a rough patch the last few months, but we've been getting a lot better. We're right back to where we used to be before everything happened, but we have another reason for celebrating tonight."

"We're celebrating because Roman and I have just found out that..." Katrina paused for a moment, trying to contain her excitement. "...I'm pregnant."

Anna squealed in excitement and nearly jumped out of her seat to hug Katrina. Tears sprang from both of their eyes. Anna pulled back and looked at her little sister when she placed her hands on her stomach. "We're welcoming a little one to the family?"

Katrina nodded and grinned. "I'm seven weeks pregnant."

Everyone at the table congratulated the two on the big news. They all knew that it was something that they wanted but that they were going to try to take it slow.

"The doctor said that because of the miscarriage that I had, she's going to keep a close eye on me and the baby throughout the entire pregnancy. Our goal right now is to get to twelve weeks. That's what she calls the 'safe zone'." Said Katrina.

"Why 12 weeks?" Asked James who was sitting across from her.

As Katrina got comfortable in her seat, Roman took the time to answer. "That's when most of the baby's systems are fully formed. Also if we haven't heard the heartbeat by then, we could finally hear it at the 12 week mark."

"The baby will begin to look more like a human and will be able to start moving, even if I don't feel it." Added Katrina. "And my tummy will probably be a bit noticable. We have another appointment for our first sonagram so we're excited for that. We're going to wait until the 12 week mark to tell every single person that we know. Roman and I want to make sure that everything is okay before shouting it to the world."

Roman whispered a few sweet words in Katrina's ear, causing her to blush and lean into him as he kissed her cheek. She pulled at his goatee and gave him a kiss. "You're going to be a daddy this time." She whispered to him.

He looked into her eyes with such love and passion that Katrina felt her heart skip a beat. "And it'll be with you."

They shared another kiss before turning their attention back to their family. Roman stoled glances at Katrina and smiled each time that he did. After what happened years ago with his ex and Seth, whom he considered a brother as well, he thought that this day would never come. But here it is, about to have a baby of his own in a few months with his wife.

_**Five weeks later...**_

"Good morning, Katrina." Said Dr. Brooks when she walked into the room. "How are you feeling today?"

Dr. Brooks was what some would consider short, with long blonde hair and green eyes. She was funny and always made Katrina feel at ease when she came to see her. She greeted Roman and turned her attention back to Katrina.

"I'm good." Katrina responded. "Just feeling a bit tired. I was too excited last night to sleep thinking about today."

The doctor smiled and sat down while looking at the information that the nurse put into her chart. "So today, we'll finally be able to hear the baby's heartbeat. Are you two ready for that?"

"We're excited." Replied Roman. "But we're nervous." He added, thinking about what had happened.

"It's understandable." Dr. Brooks helped Katrina lean back and waited until she pulled up her shirt to apply some jelly on her stomach after measuring it. Katrina couldn't help but smile the entire ride to the doctor's. Her stomach had grown a bit in the last three weeks and she had started to become a bit noticable. She was starting to feel more comfortable in looser clothes and was beginning to look into maternity clothing for the remainder of the pregnancy. "First we're going to see what the fetus looks like."

After Roman turned the lights off, they turned their attention to the screen next to them. Roman could feel himself getting choked up, seeing his child on the screen. It really was beginning to look like a little baby in there. Katrina gasped when she saw the baby moving it's fingers slightly and began to feel tears stream down the side of her face.

"Now, the baby will continue to move around, especially when it's awake." Said Dr. Brooks. "But you may not be able to feel it until later on in the pregnancy and that's absolutely normal. So don't panic if you don't feel this little one moving around just yet, okay?"

They both nodded, understanding what they were being told. Roman and Katrina were both to fascinated with what they were seeing to speak. But the doctor smiled when she saw the look on their faces. They wouldn't let go of each other's hands either, happy to be sharing this moment together. Dr. Brooks took some pictures to give to them and put them aside.

"Ready to hear the heartbeat?" She asked them.

Katrina and Roman both grinned when they looked at each other and nodded excitedly. "We wanna hear it already." Replied Katrina.

After Dr. Brooks applied a little bit more gel, she applied the monitor to her stomach again and moved it around. Katrina and Roman both squeezed each others hands until a few seconds later when they finally began to hear the heartbeat.

"There we go." Said the doctor. "Heartbeat's regular, normal and strong."

Roman found himself tearing up again, but today the tears were filled with happiness. He couldn't believe that this was finally happening. He was really going to be a father.

"Even though we've made it to the 12 week mark in great shape, I'm going to continue to keep a close eye on you and the baby." Said Dr. Brooks after cleaning the jelly off of Katrina's belly and helping her sit back up after turning the lights back on. "We're going to take it step by step and make each appointment that we have, a goal. Before you know it, the baby will be here."

After we were done with the appointment, Dr. Brooks sent Katrina to the lab to get her blood drawn to make sure that everything was okay.

"We have to start getting the baby's room ready." Katrina told Roman softly as she leaned into his arms while they waited for the elevator. They shared a few kisses before Roman replied.

"We can start looking for some things like cribs and strollers and stuff like that." He replied. Seeing the elevator doors open, he grabbed her hand and intertwined their fingers together, not letting go the entire time. "I wanna pick out the color for the room, but we don't know what the gender is yet."

Katrina smiled up at her husband as she listened to him talk about getting things ready for the new addition. "You're so adorable."

Roman chuckled deeply. "I'm just excited about this. What happened last time...it's made me appreciate this a lot more than I probably would have. I'm cherishing this so much more."

She leaned up and pecked his lips before walking out of the elevator with their hands intertwined as they walked to his car. They looked through their phones to see if they could find any baby stores nearby to get an idea of what they had in stock and what they could afford.

When they got to a store, they were both filled with excitement as they looked around. They asked a few questions and found a few things that they both liked. After getting an idea of the prices, they decided to come back another day when they knew they had enough to buy a few things as well as waiting to see if there were other things that they could find.

"Can we get some ice cream?" Asked Katrina as they walked back to the car. "I'm craving ice cream."

Roman smiled and nodded. "We'll go get some before heading home."

This was opening up a new chapter in their lives and they couldn't wait to see how it played out. The weeks and months of heartache and trying to deal with their emotions, almost clouding their marriage to whom knows what end, they were finally getting a blessing in the form of being able to bring a new life into this world.

**A/N: So Katrina's finally pregnant! What do you all think the gender will be? **


	21. Chapter 21

**Thank you to Ortongirl1993, Neisha03Ty, Slytherin Studios, CaliforniaFriends, justkimmy, DeeMarie426, corbettluv and rhonda for reviewing :) **

Roman parked his car in the school's parking lot early Friday morning to meet up with the team to head to Lousiana for a football game against Louisiana State University, followed by a game with Florida State on Sunday. Katrina had the weekend off and came along with him to drive the car back home instead of leaving it unattended for the weekend in an empty parking lot.

Getting out of the car, Katrina walked up to him and waited until he finished getting his bags out of the back of his black, Tahoe SUV. She had on a light sweater and her long chestnut brown hair was in a ponytail. Being four months pregnant, they were being careful to not do anything harmful to both mother and child.

"What's wrong?" Asked Katrina when she saw that he wasn't as happy as he usually was and with his sunglasses on with clouds in the sky. Roman shook his head and told her that he was fine but she prided herself in knowing her husband well enough to know when he's not happy. Cupping his face with her hands, his arms automatically wrapped around her.

"I wanna stay with you and the baby." Roman whispered sadly. "After hearing the heartbeat again yesterday and seeing it on the sonagram...I just want to stay."

Katrina took off his sunglasses and held them in her hands while her arms remained around his neck. Roman's hands moved to her waist and then to her growing tummy as he softly rubbed it. She knew that he wasn't going to let her get on the ride all the way to Louisiana and back with her being pregnant and she understood why, causing in her not bothering to ask him to let her go with them.

"Kick some ass in the next two games and come home to us." She told him softly.

"I'll always come home to you." Roman told her.

They shared a few kisses before Roman held her hand, intertwining their fingers together as they walked to the bus that was there. They all greeted their coach when they saw him and as he put his bag with everyone else's.

"Guys, this is my wife." Said Roman as he walked back up to her and held her. "Katrina, this is my team."

She smiled and greeted everybody that was there and continued to talk to them for a while. Roman noticed some of them failing at peeling their eyes off of her, causing a low growl to form in Roman's throat.

"I know she's beautiful, guys." Said Roman. "But try anything with her that I don't like and they'll be issues between you and I that will be the opposite of beautiful."

"Be nice." Said Katrina in a soft voice and saw a smile on his face, telling her that he was only joking around with them even though she knew he was serious about the whole having a problem with someone if they tried anything with her part. She smiled along with him but pouted when the driver said that it was time to get going. After Roman took attendance, they got on the bus one by one while Roman lingered outside with Katrina. "Be safe and good luck on your games this weekend."

Roman nodded. "I will and thanks baby." He replied with a kiss and looked into her eyes. "God, I love you so much."

She blushed deeply with the way he had said those words and smiled. "I love you, too. Now go, before you're late."

They shared a few kisses before she shooed him away. Katrina walked back to Roman's car and turned it on, hearing the engine purr. Sitting in the front of the bus, Roman saw when Katrina pulled his car in front of the bus and drove off carefully. He hadn't left the state yet, let alone on the highway, and he was already wanting to come back home to her and their unborn child.

_**A month later...**_

"How are you today, Katrina?" Asked Dr. Brooks when she walked into the room.

She smiled, seeing her doctor. Roman had the day off and with a home games looming this weekend, he was able to stay home and go with Katrina to her five month appointment to find out the gender of the baby.

"I'm doing okay." Katrina replied. "Just nervous."

"We'll check to see if everything is okay and see what's changed from our previous appointment." Said the doctor. "Let's check for the sonagram." Said Dr. Brooks. Putting jelly on Katrina's tummy, she began to check for the baby and smiled when she saw the baby on the screen. Roman and Katrina couldn't see much because the screen wasn't facing them as much as it usually did. "Everything looks perfectly fine. The baby is developing perfectly fine and it seems to be completely healthy."

The doctor turned the screen to the side for the couple to see. They smiled seeing how much the baby has grown since the last time that they laid eyes on it. The baby seemed to be sleeping, but it was okay. Roman and Katrina were just happy to see it.

"Would you like to know the gender?" Asked Dr. Brooks.

Katrina and Roman grinned as they nodded and said 'yes'. The doctor moved around her stomach as she looked at the screen while making a few clicking noises with the keys on the keyboard, trying to get a better view of the baby.

With a smile on her face, she turned to Katrina and Roman to tell them the news. "Congratulations, it's going to be a little boy."

Their heart swelled with joy as they found out what they were having. Roman leaned down to give Katrina a kiss with the biggest grin still plastered on his face. Katrina kept his lips against hers to keep sharing kisses.

"Let's try the heartbeat now." She said as she began to move around the monitor to check for the baby's heart. A few seconds later, she found it. "Normal, regular and strong. He's doing perfectly fine, he's strong and healthy."

0.0

"We need to start looking for the paint for his room." Said Katrina as they got into Roman's car after her appointment. "I got like a little checklist for things we need to get. We already have a few packs of pampers but we're obviously going to need more, that rocking chair that my grandfather and dad are putting together and the two car seats for your car and mine."

"Are you thinking about getting blue for his room?" Asked Roman as he began to drive, but smiled already knowing what she was going to say.

Katrina looked up from the checklist before responding. "Of course I wanna get blue. This is our little boy. I want blue for his room."

Roman reached his hand out and held on to her hand while they drove, looking around for a place for where they could find some paint before finally stopping at Home Depot. After much looking around, they found a perfect shade of blue for their son's room.

"When do you want to start painting?" Asked Roman. "I was thinking about maybe this weekend. We can try to get Dean and Derek to help us out a bit if I have to keep a lot of my attention on the team and the game this weekend. It's only one game, but still. I don't want you doing any of that by yourself."

Katrina nodded. "In the meantime, we can start looking for clothes and a crib and just a whole bunch of other things."

He looked at his excited wife with a big grin on his face. Roman hoped that their son would turn out a bit like his mother. There were four months left until their son would be welcomed into this world and he knew that he couldn't wait until he held his child in his arms. During a time when he thought that he would never have any kids for obvious reasons, he was now truly blessed.

"Roman, I want ice cream." Katrina said with innocence in her voice and a small pout, pulling him out of his thoughts as he grabbed her purse and her hand before walking back out to the parking lot.

"We'll go to that diner you like to get some lunch and then we'll get some ice cream." He responded to her, knowing that it was one of her cravings. When they got there, they ordered the usual and Katrina snuggled closer to Roman to be in the comfort of his arms.

They saw Dean and Renee walk in a few minute later and greeted them as they sat down at the booth next to theirs. Roman was happy to see his brother finally happy with someone like Renee after so many years of trying to hide from commitment with someone. Dean was really a great guy, but he's been through so much in his life, that it made it hard for people to truly see how he really is behind the character that he puts on.

"Dean." Said Roman after he heard a break in his conversation with Renee. "Wanna help out this weekend on painting the baby's room?"

He smiled. "Yeah, sounds good. Just let me know what time to be there."

"Have you found out what you're having?" Asked Renee.

"We're having a boy." Katrina said with a big smile on her face. "We already got the paint for his room."

They both congratulated them and talked a little more as Dean and Renee were shown the sonagram pictures.

"He's going to be a mama's boy." Said Dean. Roman looked up at him with a shine in his eye. "Katrina has you wrapped around her finger and there's no doubt that this little boy is going to love her as much you do her."

"I'm excited." Roman replied. "I'm actually looking forward to this more than I was before."

_**A few days later...**_

Dean and Roman greeted each other as he entered Roman's house. Katrina had to do a few things for work so she would be out of the house for a few hours. The two best friends took this opportunity to spend some much needed guy time with Roman's game not being until the next day.

They got started on the room after covering up the carpet and any places that they didn't want the paint to run off too. They talked about random guy things as well as listening to music to help get them maintain their attention and not get distracted like they always seemed to do when they were together. Ever since they met a few years ago, they've been inseperable and those that saw them together just knew that they were good together. Roman and Dean understood each other and and played well off of each other.

"Wanna get some lunch?" Asked Roman when he looked at his watch and saw that it was a little after 12 noon.

"Yeah, sure." Replied Dean. "Wanna order something from that Chinese restaurant that we like?"

Roman agreed and they both put the brushes down and put the lid back on the can of paint to look at the menu that Roman kept in the kitchen. They ended up ordering their usual and became lazy while they waited.

"I have some good news." Said Dean suddenly. Roman lifted his head up off the head of the couch and looked up at him. "I'm opening up my own wrestling school, here in Florida."

Roman smiled. "You're serious?"

Dean nodded and grinned. "I know I've always talked about doing something outside of wrestling, but I've never done anything. I've gotten everything that I needed to get and everything's almost done with the construction. We just have to finish a few more things."

"Congratulations, man." Said Roman as they gave each other a manly hug. "I'm proud of you and I can't wait to see this place. That explains why you've been so busy lately."

The dirty blonde man chuckled. "I've always wanted to do something with wrestling, even if it wasn't me, myself, in the ring every week. I love wrestling, it's what helped me get out of the crappy situation I was in. I was also thinking that you could be a part of this journey with me."

"How?" Asked Roman, thinking about different ways that he could a part of this.

"You could be the guy who helps them out with their workout routines." Replied Dean. "I know that you have work and your football team that you have to juggle along with everything else you got going on, but it can be once or twice a week. I'll get someone to be there when you won't be able to. You don't have to if you don't want to. I'll understand if you don't."

Roman thought about the offer that Dean was presenting to him. How could he deny this opportunity? This was his best friend and he wanted to be a part of this amazing journey for him. "Absolutely. Now, I won't be able to be there every single day, but I'll be there even if it's just once or twice a week. I'ma be there."

Dean grew a genuine smile on his face. "Thanks, man. I appreciate it."

The doorbell rang a few minutes later and they both pitched in with what they had to pay. After closing the door, they quickly went to the kitchen and got some cups for the soda and some extra napkins in case. After sitting down and pouring themselves some soda, Dean noticed that Roman had something on his mind.

"What's in that head of yours, big guy?" He asked.

Roman thought for a moment before responding. "Promise me you won't get mad about it because I know how you may still feel about it."

Dean looked at him curiously. "What is it?"

"I was thinking about Seth." Roman replied. He saw the look that Dean had made and quickly responded again. "I didn't see him but it's just one of those things where you don't see someone for a while but they just happen to cross your mind anyways."

"Like what it would have been like these days if we were still on good terms with him." Dean said quietly as he ate an eggroll.

Roman nodded, agreeing with him. "Things would have probably been different if we still were."

"Things definitely _would have _been different." Said Dean. "We may have stayed in Georgia a little longer and you and Janelle would have probably stayed together a little longer as well. How much longer...who knows because with the way that things were going between you two, if things didn't change, the relationship would have ended but it would have lasted a little longer than what it did. Who knows if we would even have the things we have now."

"I think that it's true when people say that things happen for a reason." Said Roman eating some of his rice. "As fucked up as what they did was, if it wasn't for that, we wouldn't be where we are today. I wouldn't be married with a son on the way."

"And I wouldn't be with Renee and opening up my own wrestling school." Added Dean. "I knew that as long as I was in Georgia, I would never be able to do something like that. I needed a change and moving here to Florida was what inspired me to make that change."

They sat quietly for a while, eating their food and drinking soda until Dean spoke up again, thinking about what to say. "A part of me understands why that crossed your mind because as much as I don't like Seth, I have to admit that there has been literally one or two occasions where I'm sitting there and that pops into my head."

Dean drank some soda and thought for a moment. "But the other part of me gets upset when that happened because I remembered everything that happened. Roman...we considered Seth a brother because it's like you said before it all went wrong, we skipped the friendship part and went straight to being brothers. We went straight to having such a strong bond and anybody that knew us when we were still on good terms with Seth, knew that bond and how much it mattered to us. We thought we were invincible because of it, thinking that nobody and nothing could ever break what we had."

"He would be bugging you every now and then about finally having a girlfriend." Said Roman.

He nodded. "Since the day that we met, all I've ever done was the whole sex thing with girls. I've never wanted to commit because I was afraid of getting hurt. I still am. Renee makes me happy though and I'm actually falling more and more in love with her. It scares me because it's been so long since I've felt like that towards anyone that I almost forgot what it feels like.I'm not saying that marriage is in the cards anytime soon. That's something I'm not ready for just yet. But who knows?"

"Damn, she really _is _a good influence on you." Said Roman as he chuckled on the grin that Dean gave him.

"I got a good girl." He responded softly.

**A/N: I decided to add Dean and Roman into this chapter because I wanted to show them together and for people to see how good friends they are. Also I've been thinking about what gender to go with when it comes to what Katrina and Roman will have. The more comfortable route would have been to go with a girl because in reality, he has a beautiful daughter. But I wanted to try something different in this story with his firstborn being a boy. I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter :)**


	22. Chapter 22

**Thank you to rhonda, corbettluv, Pinayprincesa, PunkShieldGirl, DeeMarie426 and Slytherin Studios for reviewing :) **

It wasn't long before Katrina was already eight months pregnant. Her belly had grown so much and so had the baby and they couldn't be more excited. They wanted to see what their son would physically look like and what his personality would be like. Roman was driving with Katrina somewhere but wouldn't tell her where they were going or why. He wanted it to be a surprise.

When they got to the parking lot, Katrina saw Dean's wrestling school in the distance. The school had been doing an amazing job since it had opened a few months ago. It's been making a lot of buzz in the local newspapers, online and news stations in the area, and was beginning to make headlines nationally. Roman had been helping him out a few times out of the week and it bought them a lot closer together than what they already were. Roman heard Katrina whimper when he opened the door for her and tried to look past her hair.

"Baby, what's wrong?" He asked when he walked up to her and hooked her chestnut hair behind her ear to see her crying. Roman stroked the back of her hand and tried to get her to look at him.

"I look like a house." Katrina replied quietly as she cried.

Roman looked at her almost confused before he realized what she meant. "No, you look pretty today."

Katrina had on a dark blue shirt with blue jeans and sneakers. Her long hair was straightened out and cascading down her back. Her blue eyes stood out more because of her shirt and it was not obvious to everyone that she was pregnant.

"I'm only eight months pregnant, but I look like I'm ready to pop." Katrina responded with tears rolling down her face. "My feet and ankles are swollen and I've gained like so much weight, I don't like it."

She understood that it was because of the hormones that were raging inside of her because of the pregnancy, but she couldn't help it. There were times when she couldn't just contain her emotions and it would just come out. Roman understood that it was just the hormones taking over and tried to handle it the best way that he could.

"Come on, the surprise that I told you about may be something that could make you feel better." Roman told her as he kissed her cheek.

Roman grabbed her purse and helped her out of the car, before grabbing her hand and intertwining their fingers together after she got herself together and wiped her face from the tears. He texted Roman saying that they were were walking to the door without Katrina noticing much and Dean began to gather everyone by the door. When we got there, Dean along with all of our friends and family were there.

"Surprise!" Exclaimed everyone that was there in unison when Katrina walked in the door with Roman quickly behind her.

Katrina's jaw dropped as she looked around. Tears of happiness began to form again in her eyes as she went to hug everyone from her sister, Anna to Derek who was her best friend since her first day of college.

"Ya'll really did this baby shower for me?" Asked Katrina when she stepped back to look at the place in it's entirety. There were blue ballons everywhere and a banner that said 'Congratulations' and 'It's A Boy!' The place was set up with several tables that were put into one long table that was made into the shape of a 'U'. It had blue table clothes and little table pieces that had a baby boy on it.

"Of course." Said Dean. "We've been planning it out for the last two months and thought it would be even better to have it with people that you love."

She cried but with a smile on her face. "Thank you so much, everyone. I'm so thankful for all of this."

"We got a special chair for the special lady this evening." Said her father, James who had his eyes glowing with happiness. He stook out his arm and had Katrina hold on to it as she was walked to the biggest chair in the place in the middle of the table. Roman sat next to her and pecked her lips softly.

They started out with some food followed by cake for desert. They all talked and had some fun with jokes and laughter before it calmed down enough for presents. One by one, they presented Katrina and Roman with the presents. The first one was from Anna.

"Awww!" Exclaimed Katrina when she saw that it was the cutest onesie that she has ever seen for a baby boy along with socks, a hat and mitts so that the baby won't scratch himself. Roman and her thanked Anna and hugged her tightly. Next was her father who gave them a few presents from him and her grandparents. It was a few clothes and shoes, followed by a bath set with baby lotion, baby powder and shampoo. Katrina's grandparents made a blanket for their grandson and she held it dear to her heart, remembering the blanket that they made for her when she was little.

Katrina touched her tummy and felt her son kicking away and smiled. In just a few weeks, he would be in this world and in her arms where he belonged. Her and Roman were both as excited as ever, awaiting the entrance of their son into this world.

_**Two hours later...**_

The party was over and Roman and James were helping Dean clean up while Anna and Derek helped Katrina get her gifts together and helping get them to the car. They ended up getting a lot of clothes and pajamas for thebaby along with pacifiers, baby wipes, pampers, and a lot more hats. When everything was done, they all left the place and lingered in the parking lot.

"Thank you so much, Dean for allowing us to have the baby shower here." Said Roman as he and his brother hugged. Katrina gave him a hug afterwards and thanked him as well.

"Anything for you, Ro." Said Dean. "You're my brother and you always will be. Now that Katrina's in your life and you're having a little one soon, she's part of our family too."

Roman's heart filled with joy. Katrina is the first woman in years that Dean has approved of for Roman and it meant a lot to him. They talked for a few more minutes before Roman noticed that all of the kicking that the baby was doing was beginning to hurt and bother Katrina a bit even though she was trying to not let it show.

"You're stubborn, just like your father." She mumbled when they walked back to the car as she rubbed her tummy, referring to the baby. "You won't stay still for mommy."

Roman chuckled quietly and gave her a soft kiss. "My stubborness isn't that bad."

Katrina giggled and gave him another kiss. "Yes, but he's still getting it from you."

_**Three weeks later...**_

"It's going to be okay, baby." Whispered Roman in Katrina's ear while she had another contraction. She held on tightly to his hand and to the railing with her free hand.

"It really hurts." She whimpered as her contractions came about three minutes apart. Katrina has now been in labor for about six hours and she's only four centimeters dialated when they last checked.

Roman's parents had just arrived at the hospital and joined Katrina's father, sister and grandparents. Dean texted Roman a few minutes earlier stating that he was on his way now. A part of them was worried because Katrina was going into labor a week early and wanted to know if the baby was okay. The doctor had told them that it was okay and normal for the baby to come as early as a week. With Katrina and Roman being first time parents, they didn't know what to expect with the labor and just being parents in general, other than what they've been told.

The nurse came in a few minutes later to check on Katrina and the baby. Once she saw that everything was okay, she went about checking to see how much more dialated Katrina was since the last time that they checked.

"You're six and half centimeters dialated." The nurse said with a smile. "It seems to speeding up a bit. Would you like an epidural?"

"What is an epidural, exactly?" Asked Roman in a bit of a protective voice. He wanted to amke sure that they both knew what was going on throughout the labor and what was going to be put into her body would effect the baby.

"An epidural is pain medication." The nurse replied. "It numbs up the waist down and so it reduces the amount of pain that she'll feel. It'll start working about 20 minutes within recieving it. So when she gets a contraction, she'll feel pressure instead of the pain that comes along with it."

Katrina hissed when another contraction came and gripped her pillow as she whimpered his name. Roman quickly went to grab her hand and tried to soothe her. It hurt him seeing Katrina hurting and knowing that he couldn't do anything about it to keep her from the pain.

"The cons with an epidural is that it may slow down the contractions." Said the nurse and looked at the monitor again. "Her contractions are three minutes apart and her labor seems to moving along at a decent speed. We'll also have to check her blood pressure at least every five minutes or so along with the monitor that we have the baby on to make sure that there are no negative effects on her or the baby."

"No, I don't want it." Said Katrina as she looked up at them with a sleepy look in her eyes. "I don't want to risk nothing happening to him."

Roman looked at his wife and searched her eyes for confirmation. "Are you sure that's what you want?"

Katrina nodded and swallowed. "I'll deal with it."

They talked for a few more minutes before the nurse left the room. Roman walked out a while later to get some ice for Katrina to chew on and saw their some of their friends and their families in the waiting room. He updated them on what was going on and continued on his way to get what he originally left the room for.

As we was making his way back to his wife, Roman saw a familiar figure walking into her room. He quickened his steps and went in only to see Katrina sitting up with a confused look on her face as Seth looked back and forth between her and Roman.

Roman let out a deep growl before putting down the cup of ice and grabbing Seth's shirt. "There's no reason for you to be anywhere near my wife, Seth! Weren't you satisfied with what you did the last time?!"

"Don't do anything, Roman." Pleaded Katrina. "Whatever he did, it's not worth it right now. There's something a little bit more important here than trying to beat him up!"

"Roman, just let me explain why I'm here!" Exclaimed Seth.

"For what?" Asked Roman. "Do you remember the last time we were in the hospital together?"

"I swear, that's not the reason for why I'm here." Said Seth. "I promise!"

Roman got pulled out of his anger of seeing Seth in the room and looked back at Katrina who was in the middle of another contraction. Roman kicked Seth out, not wanting to hear what he had to say at the moment. About thirty minutes later, Dean came into the room to greet Katrina and see how they were doing. He noticed that something was wrong with Roman but wasn't sure if this was the right time to say anything about it. Now wasn't the time to ruin what was going on at the moment.

When Roman walked out of the room for a few minutes to give another update about two hours later, he pulled Dean to the side. They went to an area where they knew that they would have some privacy.

"Seth is here." Said Roman.

Dean's eyes widened. "What do you mean he's here? The last time we saw him was what, a year or two ago?"

"That's what I was thinking." Roman replied. "I was going back to the room and saw him standing there. Katrina didn't know what was going on because she doesn't remember what he looks like. How the hell did he know that either one of us was going to be here today?"

"What did he even want?" Dean asked curiously.

Roman shook his head and shrugged. "I don't even know. I kicked him out of the room before anything else was said or done. There's something more important happening right now that I have give my attention to."

They both looked around to see if Seth was anywhere in sight. They also took the time to rake their brains as to why they would be here. It felt like Deja-Vu all over again for Roman. The last time Roman and Seth were in the hospital as the same time together, it was because he found out that his ex, the woman whom he loved, was cheating on him with Seth. Even though it wasn't the case here, that doesn't mean that it's appropiate for Seth to be here at the moment.

_**A few hours later...**_

"Is the baby out yet?" Asked Katrina as she leaned her head back on the pillow. She had been pushing for an hour when it really felt like she had been pushing forever.

"The baby's head is right there, Katrina." Said the doctor. "A few more pushes and we'll have the baby out. On your next contraction, push."

Katrina took a few deep breaths and when the next contraction came, she held on to Roman's hand who had been right there by her side throughout the entire thing. He kept encouraging her to keep pushing. A few minutes later, Roman's eyes widened and Katrina let out a deep breath when the baby was finally out. Tears filled their eyes when they heard him begin to cry loudly.

"Congratulations, it's a boy!" Said the doctor and the nurses that were in the room as they began cleaning him up and put him on Katrina's chest. Katrina and Roman shared sweet kisses as they cried tears of joy seeing their son finally arrive in this world.

He sounded like he had the lungs of life as he cried and wailed his arms around in the air while they gave Roman the scisors for him to cut the umbilical cord. The nurses took him to get weighed and measured as Katrina and Roman continued to cry.

After everything was done, their newborn son was happy in his mother's arms as he was wrapped snuggly in a blanket and with a hat on. He was wide awake looking into his mother's eyes.

"Mr. Alexander Ethan Reigns..." Said Katrina with a sweetness in her voice. "...Welcome to this world little guy. We've been waiting for you."

Roman grinned as his heart melted at the sight in front of him as his son cooed and held on to her finger. When Katrina let Roman hold him, he took in everything that he could of his son, even as tears filled his eyes. Alexander had his mother's blue eyes and lips while he inherited Roman's tan skin, his raven-black hair, nose and the shape of his mouth.

"I love you so much already, little guy." Said Roman with happiness in his voice.

When it was time to take Alexander to the nursery, Roman went along with the nurses to show everyone that was waiting to see. When they finally did, Roman smiled at the gasps and 'awws' that he hears as they finally saw the bundle of joy.

"He's Roman's twin!" Exclaimed his mother as he hugged her son. He even saw tears in his father's eyes making it the first time that he's ever seen him cry.

"Congratulations." Said his father, with pride in his voice.

"Thanks, Dad." Roman replied in his ear. "A healthy 9 pounds, 6 ounces and 23 inches long."

"He's quickly taking after his father." Said Roman's dad.

After a few moments of everyone saying their congratulations and taking a few more sightings of the baby, they finished taking Alexander to the nursery. Roman watched from the outside and saw where they placed him and saw him moving around. He watched his son in amazement as he wondered in awe how one could have so much love for another human being.

Roman finally understood what his parents used to tell him and his brother and sisters when they were little. There would be times where they would get upset because of their parents not allowing them to do certain things and they were always told that they would understand when they became parents. Roman is beginning to understand why.

He didn't want nothing but the best for his son and holding Alexander in his arms just makes him want to do everything that he does for him. For the family that he now has with his wife, Katrina and he couldn't be any more happier, it seemed like. He was on cloud nine and felt as if he had the whole world in his hands.

**A/N: Katrina and Roman finally had their baby boy! What do you think of the name that they gave him and what do you think of Seth being at the hospital? What reason could he possibly have for being there? Do you think Roman should have given him a chance to explain himself at least before kicking him out of the room? **


	23. Chapter 23

**Thank you to Alexandria M, justkimmy, Slytherin Studios, Neisha03Ty, PunkShieldGirl and corbettluv for reviewing :) **

It had been two months since Katrina had given birth to Alexander and they couldn't be more happy than what they were. Their son had grown so much in the past month and they made sure to keep a record of all of it by taking countless pictures. The past month had been hectic, but they wouldn't change it for anything.

"How's little Alex doing?" Asked Dean while he and Roman cleaned up to get ready to close up and leave for the night.

"He's doing great." Roman replied with a smile. "He's gotten a lot bigger which doesn't surprise me because I was a big kid when I was little too. Alex is smiling and cooing a little more. It's just amazing. Being a father is hard but it's amazing and a blessing. I don't know what I'd do without my son."

They heard someone knocking on the locked doors and they went to see who it was, thinking that it was one of Dean's students who may have forgotten something. Roman and Dean stop in their tracks when they see that it's Seth. Dean mumbled something as he went to go open the door.

"What are you doing?" Asked Dean. "We're closed, come back during normal hours."

He wasn't going to ask Seth how he found the place because Dean's school had been advertised all over the place and had been talked about like crazy because of how successful it had been since it had opened up months ago.

"I just wanted to talk to the two of you and when I found out that Roman spent some time here, I thought I'd stop by." Seth replied.

Dean just stared at Seth as he walked in and watched as he stepped back slightly when Roman began to step towards him. Seth had not forgotten what had happened two months ago at the hospital and he knew that Roman wouldn't mind getting physical. He was still taller and bigger than Seth and had gotten a lot more fit since they last saw each other. Seth raised his hands in surrender but began to mentally freak out when he saw that Dean was the only one in that place at the moment that could control Roman's temper for now because he wasn't going to do it himself against someone that he didn't like.

"Can we talk things out, maybe over lunch?" Asked Seth. "Tomorrow."

Dean pulled Roman to the side and talked to him. "He obviously tried to tell you something that day in the hospital. It must be something important if he's been looking for us."

Roman just grunted and went back to cleaning up and getting things together while Dean talked to Seth.

"He has a game on Sunday." Said Dean. "So tomorrow it'll be. But I promised my girlfriend that I'd spend the day with her and Roman is spending time with his family. So expect to see them come along."

"That's fine." Seth replied. They discussed the place and time that they would meet and watched him leave. Roman knew that he would have some explaining to do for Katrina as to why he was going to lunch with the same guy whose head he wanted to rip off when she was in labor.

_**The next day...**_

Roman and Katrina got of their car and took out a baby seat. They saw Dean and Renee waiting for them at the door with Seth. While Roman carried the baby seat, thoughts ran through his mind as to what Seth could possibly have to say to them.

Dean and Renee greeted the couple as well as their son who was wide awake and beginning to get fussy letting Katrina know that he wanted to be fed. When Seth tried to say something to Katrina, Roman let out a soft growl as he stepped towards Seth, letting him know that Roman still didn't trust him. Katrina grabbed Roman's arm and looked up at her husband. He whispered something to her and kissed her lips before going inside where Alex's blue eyes captivated everyone they passed by that saw the baby boy.

They all found a booth that was big enough for all of them and took a seat. An awkward silence filled the air as they all looked at the menu, deciding what to eat. When they finally ordered, Katrina took Alexander out and into her arms to feed him. She got up and excused herself, carrying her him and the baby's bag.

"He's your twin, Roman." Said Seth, breaking the silence within the table. "He looks just like you."

Roman smiled softly, but kept to himself. Dean noticed the silence that was beginning to fill the air again and cleared his throat as put his arm on top of the seat, allowing Renee to lean against it and Dean.

"So what brings us all together again?" Asked Dean.

"I wanted to start off by apolgizing." Seth replied. "I know you've heard me say 'I'm sorry' time and again, but I want you two to know that I genuinely mean it."

Roman opened his mouth to say something but closed it again, thinking of what to say. He kept his hands in his lap and looked down at the table before looking back up at Seth. "We forgive you, whether we believe the apologies or not, Seth. My thing is that, when it happened, I didn't believe you because if you were truly sorry, it would have happened only once. Not over and over again behind my back. The same thing goes for Janelle, so don't think that it's just you that I would be hard on."

Seth stayed quiet. "I see that I missed out on so much the past few years. Dean finally has a girlfriend and Roman's married and has a little family of his own and both of you with long careers ahead of you."

"You could have been a part of all of that, Seth." Dean told him. "But who knows if things would have been different, had things not changed as a result of what happened."

"It would have been different." Said Seth. "We proabably wouldn't be here for now."

Katrina came back with a happy Alexander and found her seat again just in time. The waiter bought their food as Katrina took a sip of her soda. Alex cooed when he saw Roman and smiled followed by laughter when his father began to tickle him. He kicked his feet and and had his laughter fill the diner.

Alexander calmed down enough for Katrina to put him down so that she could eat. Roman kept a protective vibe around the two as they ate and Seth was quick to notice. The way that he looked at Katrina was a way that he's never seen Roman look at anyone before. He was truly in love and anyone could see that when they saw the couple together. The same went for Dean. Seth looked at him with his girlfriend and saw the happiness in his eyes. Anyone who knew him as well as he and Roman did, knew that it had to be someone special to make Dean as happy as Renee made him.

"Another reason why I wanted to us to come together today, was that I wanted us to try to become friends again." Said Seth.

"What of Janelle?" Asked Dean as Roman turned his attention to his son for a moment, hearing Alex laugh once again.

Seth thought for a moment. "Well, I'm stuck with her for the rest of my life. We broke up about a few days before I saw Roman in the hospital. But because we share a son, we'll also share custody of him. So I won't be able to get rid of her."

"How did you know that I was in the hospital anyways and why were you anywhere near Katrina?" Asked Roman as if not hearing anything else that was said.

"Janelle was in the hospital because she had a bad fall." Seth replied. "I saw you walking around and decided to go look for you. I was going room to room, trying to find you. I didn't know that she's your wife. If I had known, I wouldn't have went in."

Roman and Dean looked at each other, hearing Seth's answer. They weren't really impressed but put some thought into what he was telling them.

"What I want to know," Said Roman. "Is why you and Janelle did what you did. And then why you treated Dean the way that you did for him trying to defend me."

Seth stayed quiet for a moment. "I was lonely. She gave me a call one day and said that she needed somebody to talk to and that I was the only person that she felt cofmortable talking to at the moment. So I stopped by to see if she was okay. One thing led to another and before you knew it, that was when it all started. Janelle and I knew that it was wrong, but we continued to do it anyways. That was our fault, you didn't deserve that. I lashed out at Dean because at that moment, I thought that he could get away with it and not have a care in the world about it. I was angry that he could do the crazy shit that he does and be okay."

"You say you were lonely." Said Roman with a straight face, after smiling at the baby. "Seth, you know damn well you could have had any other girl out there in Georgia or back home in Iowa. That was how great of a guy you were. But you went after the one that _I _had because you were lonely."

"I'm genuinly, sorry about that Roman." Said Seth. "I truly am."

Things went silent again as they continued to eat. "Seth...people expect me to be an asshole and to be crazy. That's just how I am and people see it coming from the moment that they meet me. It was different for you because that's not how people percieved you, Seth. You were seen as this really good guy who cared about the people that were in his life. Always trustworthy and honorable. What people expect from you is a lot different than what people expect from me, Seth."

He understood now, completely, what was being said. "I know, and I'm sorry."

"Stop apologizing, Seth." Roman told him. "We get it, and we forgave you. It's just going to be a while before we ever trust you again."

'We're not saying that we won't ever have some kind of trust with you." Added Dean. "But we just need to think about it. Things aren't going to change overnight."

At least they were going to think about it. That was the good thing for Seth. He wanted his brothers back in his life and he thought that this was a positive start to it.

**A/N: What do you think about Seth trying to have a positive relationship with his former brothers and the fact that he and Janelle broke up? **


	24. Chapter 24

**Thank you to Alexandria M, Slytherin Studios, DeeMarie426, justkimmy, and corbettluv for reviewing :) **

A few weeks later, Katrina and Roman's son made four months. Alexander was beginning to become more mobile, making his parents wonder how he would be when he started walking. Alex had become the center of their world and they were the happiest parents in the world it seemed. Their little bundle of joy made their life so much better and gave them something else to look forward to everyday.

As they made their way to the park, they met up with Dean and Renee who were already there and waiting for them and for Seth to arrive. Things had been a little awkward for Seth since the last time that they talked and he understood why. Roman and Dean still hadn't gave him their decision yet as to what they wanted when it came to what would be going on between them all.

As they played with Alex, a car pulled up and parked nearby before someone got out of the car. It was Seth with his hair in a ponytail, skinny jeans and some band t-shirt. He walked towards them and greeted them, but kept a distance from the ladies and the baby, knowing that Dean and Roman wouldn't hesitate to do anything to him.

"Let's just get to the point." Said Dean. "How do we know that you won't do anything like that ever again?"

Seth shook his head. "I won't. I promise that it'll never happen again."

"Even if it doesn't, how do we know that we can trust you?" Asked Roman. "Because right now, no matter what we say, trust is completely out the window and you're going to have to work your ass off and then some to show us that we can at least count on you for something good. You're not going to have our trust back just like that, just because we're trying to work things out."

"I'll find a way to earn you trust back." Seth replied. "Both of you."

They all stayed quiet and heard the laughter of a baby filling the air as Katrina and Roman turned their attention to Alex who had a big smile on his face. He was beginning to look more and more like Roman with each day that passed, causing more people to say that he was the spitting image of his father.

"I just think that if we do this, then we need to take it one step at a time." Said Dean. "We're not going to rush into this at all because Roman and I need to feel this out. So let's call this a testing run at the moment and we'll see what goes on from there."

Seth nodded and saw that Roman didn't protest and so he thanked them both.

"I should have done this a lot earlier." Seth said quietly.

Roman looked at him with no emotion. "It shouldn't have happened at all. But it did and we have to deal with it."

Katrina and Renee looked at him, cautiously but Katrina was the only one of the two to not smile before turning her attention back to her son.

He knew that she would be hard to please and with Roman by her side, it would be that much harder to get into her good graces. He was willing though to make things work though, even if it meant trying to get the women in their lives to like him as well. But even that would be hard and a task that would definitely be a while to accomplish. Dean and Roman are both protective of them and it's going to be a while before they would ever be comfortable even in the slightest way, for Seth to be around them.

They didn't trust him either, and if they knew what had happened which Seth didn't doubt, then they had reason to. It was going to be a long road for Seth but he knew that it was what he was going to have to deal with to get back into the good graces of his former brothers.

Who knew if things would even get back to the way things were between the three of them. Things would never change between Roman and Dean. They were inseperable and they were in sync with each other. Where you see one, you'll see the other.

"You're so handsome, just like your daddy." Said Katrina in a sweet voice, watching as Alex smiled at her and cooed. She gave him a few kisses and watched as he laughed loudly when it began to tickle him and kicked his feet.

Alexander was a happy baby and didn't cry much. Seth watched as Roman's eyes sparkled with happiness as he held his son in his arms. The reminder of him possibly being the father of Seth's son had him wondering if it ended up being his child instead of Seth's.

"I was thinking." Said Roman to Katrina in her ear when he hugged her from behind. "Maybe one day, we could have another baby."

She turned around to face him with a smile. "You want another baby?"

Roman nodded. "Yeah. I mean, probably not right now because I'd like to catch up on some sleep before another baby comes around. But, I'd like another one. Maybe in a year or two? I want Alex to at least be one and walking and beginning to try to talk using words before we start trying again."

"I think that's good." Katrina replied. "I would like for them to be close in age growing up like Anna and I were."

"Speaking of Anna, how's her son?" Asked Roman.

Anna had a healthy baby boy two months ago at eight pounds and six ounces. They had named him Matthew and was the spitting image of her. They were going to make sure that they grew up together and that they would be close like Anna and Katrina were even to this day.

"She says he's doing really good." Katrina replied. "She said that she was going to call me a little later today."

"You two are never going to be apart are you?" Asked Roman with a smile on his face.

Katrina grinned up at him. "Nope, you can't seperate us."

She giggled causing him to give her a soft kiss with a smile of his own.

**A/N: Do you think that Roman and Dean did the right thing by giving Seth a chance? Do you think that Seth will mess it up or will he keep his word and do what he has to go to get back into their good graces? The next chapter may be the last and final chapter for this story :-/ But I promise to try to make it as good as I possibly can :) **

**P.S: I have another story up called 'Dean's Hidden Hero'. Please check it out! :) **


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